For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails
This is the moment a fearless forest ward armed only with a stick fought off a wild leopard in central India.
In the amazing encounter that occurred in the city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, the man is seen confronting the big cat in an attempt to stop it from attacking local residents.
Astonished bystanders can be heard screaming as the leopard stands at the feet of the seemingly doomed man.
Despite being injured on the floor and unable to move, the ward continues to wave the stick and after a few seconds the animal runs off.
According to local media, the man did not suffer any serious injuries as a result of his death-defying encounter.
The residents of Indore and its surrounding areas are used to living in close quarters with leopards.
Last December, a leopard was filmed by CCTV cameras as it travelled through the city at night terrorising residents.
Show all 10 1 /1010 Deadliest Animals In The World 10 Deadliest Animals In The World 10: Poison Dart Frog They might look cute, but the backs of the Amazonian poison dart frog ooze a slimy neurotoxin to keep predators away. Each frog produces enough of the toxin to kill 10 humans.
10 Deadliest Animals In The World 9: Polar Bear The strength of a polar bear is enough to decapitate a human being with a single swipe of the paw.
10 Deadliest Animals In The World 8: African Elephant The brute force of an elephant is unrivalled by any land mammal. Weighing in around 16,000lb on average, they are responsible for around 500 human deaths each year.
10 Deadliest Animals In The World 7: Cape Buffalo Cape Buffalos charge head-on with their razor-sharp horns when confronted with a predator - all 1,500lb of them. And the problem is, they tend to do so as a herd.
10 Deadliest Animals In The World 6: Crocodile The stealth and combined strength of a crocodile allows it to lie in the water undetected, before it strikes, drags its pray underwater, barrel rolls and dismembers it.
10 Deadliest Animals In The World 5: African Lion These big cats are ruthlessly agile, armed with razor-sharp teeth and talons and near-perfect hunters.
10 Deadliest Animals In The World 4: Great White Shark These kings of the sea have 3,000 teeth with which to tear their pray to shreds. On average, are 15ft long and 5,000lb, and can detect a drop of blood in 25 gallons of water.
10 Deadliest Animals In The World 3: Australian Box Jellyfish Each tentacle has 5,000 stinging cells and enough toxin to kill 60 humans. Each jellyfish has 60 tentacles each at 15 ft long. That's a lot of killing power for an animal the size of a salad bowl.
10 Deadliest Animals In The World 2: Asian Cobra It might not be the most poisonous snake, but thanks to its unique spit and strike attack technique, the Asian Cobra is responsible for more human deaths than any other snake on the planet.
10 Deadliest Animals In The World 1: Mosquito Tiny but deadly, mosquitoes carry and transfer malaria causing parasites to humans. As a result, they cause on average 2million human deaths a year, making the insect one of the world's deadliest creatures. Aside from human beings, of course.
While in September 2014, in the nearby area of Alirajpur a nine-year-old girl and six-year-old boy were killed in a spate of leopard attacks, which saw nine people die in a two-month period.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies