12-year-old Mohit Ahire from Malegaon, Maharashtra, had a close encounter with a leopard. Thanks to Ahire's quick thinking, he was able to escape the wild animal without a scratch on him, reported Times of India (TOI). A video of the incident was shared on social media, shocking many people.
The viral video shows Ahire, the son of a wedding hall security guard, sitting in a room, engrossed in his phone, when a leopard walks in. However, the big cat seemed to have not noticed the young boy. After seeing the leopard, Ahire quietly put down his phone, got up and left the room, carefully closing the door behind him. (Also Read: After 40 hours of search, Katraj Zoo leopard captured from within facility)
Watch the video of this incident here:
"The leopard was so close. There was hardly any space between the leopard and me. It walked into the inner cabin of the office right in front of me. I was scared, but I quietly got off the bench and sneaked out of the office. I closed the door behind me," said Ahire to TOI.
{{/usCountry}}"The leopard was so close. There was hardly any space between the leopard and me. It walked into the inner cabin of the office right in front of me. I was scared, but I quietly got off the bench and sneaked out of the office. I closed the door behind me," said Ahire to TOI.
{{/usCountry}}Anil Pawar, the wedding hall owner, said to TOI, "The dimensions of the booking office are 22ft × 10ft. We have created two compartments in the office. Mohit Ahire was seated in the first compartment near the entrance. The leopard headed straight into the inner cabin without noticing the boy. When the child saw the animal walk past barely a foot away from him - he stayed calm. He later sneaked out of the office and pulled the door behind him." (Also Read: Leopard’s head gets stuck in vessel, rescued after 5 hours)
Pawar also revealed that the leopard was spotted earlier, and the police and forest officials were searching for it. Once Ahire informed his father how he locked the wild animal in his office, Pawar quickly called the concerned authorities.
Malegaon range forest officer Vaibhav Hiray told TOI, "Our personnel were in the neighbourhood when the boy trapped the leopard in the wedding hall's office. We immediately called a team from Nashik city. Later, the five-year-old male leopard was tranquilised and rescued."