The leopard was spotted in the forest near Iklera in the Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh.
Dewas, Madhya Pradesh:
A shocking video of villagers from Iklera in Madhya Pradesh abusing and harassing a leopard has surfaced online. The video shows the sick leopard surrounded by more than a dozen men and one man, in red pants, pushes the others away and sits on the leopard’s back.
The leopard was spotted in the forest near Iklera in the Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh. Some of the villagers were frightened at first, but when they saw that the leopard was lethargic and not aggressive, they understood that it was sick.
The villagers gathered around the leopard and started playing with it. They petted it and took selfies with it, with one person trying to ride it.
A villager notified the forest department. While the people waited, some decided to pass the time by playing with the animal. A rescue team from Ujjain reached Iklera and took the leopard to a safe place.
Videos of the bizarre incident have gone viral on social media. “We are already encroaching on their space under the guise of development, and now we are also compromising their privacy. We should be ashamed of ourselves as human beings,” said one person.
Ranger Santosh Shukla said the team took the two-year-old leopard to Van Vihar in Bhopal for treatment. A veterinarian also performed a medical examination on the animal, he said.
“The leopard’s condition was critical. Despite this, people were concerned about him. We took the villagers from there. After this, the vet was called from Mhow in Indore,” said Mr. Shukla.
Ranger Jitendra Chauhan said the leopard wandered through the forest dizzy and couldn’t even walk properly. He said the leopard is being treated at Van Vihar and is expected to make a full recovery.
