In a dramatic moment, a very angry leopard was hauled from the bottom of a village well in southern India on 10 August.
A leopard and a dog were rescued after a 90-minute long struggle after getting trapped in the same well in Udupi District in Karnataka.
Locals believe that the big cat reportedly fell into the water while trying to flee with the dog in its mouth.
Villagers were woken in the middle of the night by the sound of a dog barking from the bottom of the well. When they got to the well, they found the dog and the leopard both trapped in it.
Realising the leopard must have dropped the dog as it fell into the water, villagers wasted no time in pulling the canine to safety with the help of a rope and a basket.
The Forest Department staff then arrived at around 9 am local time to attempt the much more dangerous task of rescuing the leopard, which was by now distressed and angry.
With the help of the locals, they lowered a cage into the well with four ropes and eventually managed to rescue the the snarling cat. The cage was then slowly raised from the well.
"It was a male leopard about five or six years old. It was very healthy," said Sharath Shetty from the Forest Department.
The leopard will be relocated.
(With inputs from AP)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)