In a heart-stopping moment captured on a dashcam, a biker and his pillion rider had a narrow escape after a leopard lunged at their moving vehicle on a dimly lit stretch near Tirupati. The chilling encounter, which took place late at night, has since gone viral on social media, sparking alarm and astonishment among internet users.
(Also read: Mumbai dog fights leopard, returns to feed puppies. CCTV footage shows chilling encounter)
The now widely shared footage shows the leopard suddenly emerging from the roadside thickets before making a daring leap towards the moving two-wheeler. The big cat came within inches of striking the bike but narrowly missed its target, vanishing swiftly back into the bushes. The entire episode unfolded within mere seconds and was captured clearly by the dashcam of a car trailing closely behind the motorbike.
The bikers, unaware of the lurking danger until the very last moment, managed to accelerate and escape unscathed. The sheer speed of the leopard’s charge and the hairbreadth miss have left viewers stunned, with many commenting on the riders’ miraculous escape.
Watch the clip here:
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{{/usCountry}}Similar incident reported in Maharashtra
This is not the first time a leopard has been caught on camera in a chilling close encounter. In a separate incident from Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district, a CCTV camera captured a melanistic leopard stealthily ambushing a dog outside a residence. The wild cat was seen lurking near the tree line before launching a swift attack and disappearing into the jungle with the dog in its jaws.
(Also read: ‘Bagheera' in Ratnagiri: Melanistic leopard leaps from shadows, snatches dog in 15 seconds)
The footage, shared by retired Indian Forest Service officer Susanta Nanda, has reignited discussions about the increasing frequency of leopard sightings in semi-urban and rural areas.