Elderly wife saves 71-year-old husband from leopard attack in India

A leopard like this one attacked Rupji Gamit, and his wife saved him (AFP/Getty Images)

An Indian man was thanking his elderly wife yesterday after she went to war with a leopard that was trying to drag him into the bush.

Rupji Gamit, 71, had gone to cut sugarcane near his village in the western state of Gujarat, when he spotted a leopard with her cubs in the foliage.

According to the Times of India, before Mr Gamit could react, the cat attacked him, biting and scratching, leaving him with injuries to his back and thigh.

The report said the animal was trying to drag Mr Gamit away when his wife, Kiruben, also in her 70s, came to the rescue, throwing mud and stones and shouting at the animal.

While many labourers fled the scene, Mrs Gamit stood her ground, even when the leopard let go of her husband and turned its attentions to her. Eventually the animal ran off.

“Anyone can get scared by a leopard. But for me it was the life of my husband that was at stake. I stopped there to save him,” she said.

Anil Vasava, deputy conservator of forest (wildlife) at Surat, said authorities were working on capturing the leopard. “Forest department officials have placed a cage at the location to nab the leopard. An alert has been sounded about its presence,” he said.