Indian Leopard (Panthera pardus fusca)

[Sanju]

A Story of Leopard and Cow which is stranger than a Fiction from Gujarat !!
 Even tho the story is from 2003 we thought it would be nice to share it on @wildkarnataka as It was a rare case of predator-prey friendship. A leopard coming to ‘visit’ a cow at night literally became the talk of the town. The incredible ways of the two animals at Antoli village in Vadodara district attracted the attention of one and all, including the wild life activists. Local villagers were first to notice the frequent visits of a leopard to the sugarcane field for its close encounter with a cow in the field. Immediately they alerted the wildlife department. One team comprising wildlife warden Mr Rohit Vyas, conservator of forest H S Singh and other enthusiasts including wildlifer Manoj Thakkar and Kartik Upadhyay visited the village several times for verification and found that the leopard has been visiting the cow at regular intervals. Mr Vyas says, "It was unbelievable, they approached each other at
very close proximity and the fearless cow licked the leopard on its head and neck. The dogs would bark when the leopard came to meet the waiting cow every night between 9.30 PM to 10.30 PM". The Forest Department which was trying to capture the beast, gave up its efforts after learning about the friendship. Moreover, the leopard did not harm other animals or human beings in the area. Its visit benefited villagers as other animals who damage the crops were scared away. That year the village’s crop yields went up by 30 percent. Reply