A motorist repeatedly honked his horn to scare away a leopard approaching sleeping farm workers near Maharashtra's Navegaonbandh National Park in Gondia district.
A hair-raising video of the moment a group of farm workers were saved from a leopard prowling in darkness is going viral on social media. The video, captured on a mobile phone, shows the workers fast asleep after a day of hard work and the big cat, sensing an opportunity, strolling towards them.
It stops before making a sudden dash towards the unaware group, but a passing motorist sounds his horn repeatedly, startling the animal and prompting it to run away.
The close shave happened near Maharashtra's Navegaonbandh National Park in Gondia district. The motorist has been identified as Manish Nevare.
Nevare told reporters that he was out for a drive with his friends when he spotted the prowling leopard. Sensing danger, he repeatedly sounded the car horn and followed the animal in his vehicle. The leopard's spotted coat is illuminated by the headlights of his car as he chases the animal.
Gondia district is currently in the paddy harvesting and threshing season, bringing migrant workers to the region to help with agricultural work. The group of workers had travelled from Punjab with three paddy-threshing machines and set up camp near a Forest Department colony in the Navegaonbandh National Park area.
After a day's work, the labourers had eaten dinner and gone to sleep in the open. It was then that the leopard appeared.
The incident has raised concerns about the safety of workers camping outdoors close to forest areas, particularly at night, when wildlife may move through the surrounding landscape.
Forest personnel have advised people staying near forests to exercise particular caution after dark. The encounter has also prompted concern among local residents about wildlife movement in and around the Navegaonbandh National Park area.
