A 54-year-old Indian woman has killed a leopard using only her farming tools after it attacked her on her way home from the fields.
Kamla Devi remains in hospital after a one-hour battle with the predator near her village in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand on Sunday.
The mother-of-one used a sickle and a small spade to fight off the leopard, after which she had to walk more than half-a-mile before finding help.
The leopard attacked Ms Devi as she walked back from working in the fields, and she claims it took an hour before the injured leopard gave in.
She suffered deep cuts on her body and three fractures, and had lost significant amounts of blood by the time she reached a hospital.
The animal was later found dead near Ms Devi’s village, Koti Bodna, in Rudarprayag.
‘While Kamla was on her way to the village, the leopard attacked her,’ an unamed villager told India Today.
‘She showed great courage by fighting the animal with a sickle and a small spade. The animal fled the spot after the struggle. We later found the leopard dead near the village.’
Wildlife expert Lakhpat Rawat expressed surprise at how long the fight had been going on for.
“A leopard will back out from attack only when it finds the opposition is strong. Mostly the attack is limited to a few minutes, not more than 10 minutes.
Mr Rawat adds that the reason the leopard kept attacking could have been that it was too young and inexperienced
‘I also feel that the large number of injuries would have motivated the beast to continue attacking in the hope of killing the woman,’ he said.
Ms Devi, a widow, told local media that she remembers the entire fight, and how long it was.
Medical staff has said that although she is in stable condition, she has had to have more than 100 stitches, suffering deep cuts on her head and legs.
She is also being treated for two fractures on her right hand and one on her left.
