VIDEO: Leopard attacks cyclist on highway in India, knocks him off bike
A videograb shows the leopard attacking a cyclist on highway in Assam, India.
A leopard attacked a cyclist on a highway along the famous Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
The shocking incident was caught on camera.
The viral video shows that the cyclist was pedaling peacefully on the National Highway in Kaziranga when the leopard emerged from the woods to pounce on him.
The animal may have mistaken the passing cyclist for prey, hitting his left hip and knocking him off the bike.
The video showed the cyclist lost his balance and fell off the bike.
The leopard retreated into the forest.
Other cyclists and cars passing on the route stopped briefly after witnessing the attack but the man appeared unhurt.
He turned his bike around quickly and began cycling back, clearly shaken up by the attack and looking over his shoulder to make sure that the animals weren't following him.
The video was shared on Twitter by IFS officer Parveen Kaswan, who said the attack took place in January and was captured on cameras installed at the Kaziranga National Park authorities.
Kaswan said, “Leopard was trying to cross the highway. Both were lucky.”
According to Kaswan, leopards are a “very adaptable species.”
“They live in farmlands, sugarcane crops, tea gardens and even in cities, hills and in forests. Sometimes the interactions are safe but many times conflicts also arise,” he wrote.
Leopard-human conflict has been on the rise in recent years, with several instances of the big cats attacking humans making the news.
Shrinking prey population and loss of habitat have led to leopard straying into human settlements, engendering conflict.
