PUNE: A woman from a village in Maharashtra showed exemplary grit and saved her husband from the clutches of a leopard while fighting valiantly with the feline. Showing no sign of fear in such a situation, Sanjana Pawade, who is in her late 30s, grabbed the leopard's tail and pulled it back, following which the carnivore lost its grip on the man and the latter got saved, forest officials said on Wednesday while lauding the woman's bravery.
The incident took place at Darodi village of Parner tehsil in Ahmednagar district on the intervening night of March 25 and 26, they said.
"While her family members were fast asleep, Sanjana sensed the presence of a leopard outside their house. She woke up her husband Gorakh Dashrath Pawade, who went out to check. The leopard then suddenly jumped on the man and attacked him," forest guard Hari Athare said.
While the leopard tried to catch hold of the man's back, Sanjana rushed and grabbed the animal's tail and tried to pull it back.
As she was trying to free her husband from the leopard's clutches, the victim's father and their pet dog also arrived there.
"Gorakh's father started hitting the leopard with sticks and granite tiles and the dog also attacked the leopard. The leopard lost its grip on the man, who then ran away from the animal," Athare said.
"Generally, a leopard grabs a person or another animal by the neck. But, in this incident, the victim also kept fighting and saved his neck from being caught by the feline," the forest guard said.
The man suffered head and arm injuries. He was taken to a hospital where he was provided treatment and later discharged, he added.
Sanjana said, "It was a horrific situation, but when I saw the leopard attacking my husband, I gathered my strength and courage. I grabbed the animal's tail and tried to pull it back."
