Oh boy! School bag saves kid from leopard

An 11-year-old schoolboy, Mayank Vishnu Kuvra, displayed extraordinary courage on Friday evening when he successfully fought off a leopard that suddenly attacked him while he was returning home from school. The incident took place near Mala Padvipada in Vikramgad taluka, Palghar district.

- Kirti Kesarkar

Mayank, a Class V student of Utavali Adarsh Vidyalaya, was walking along a forest path - about 4km from his home in Mala Padavipara - when the leopard pounced on him from the bushes. In a stroke of luck, the big cat's claws first struck Mayank's school bag, which he was carrying on his back, acting as a protective shield and preventing potentially fatal injuries to his upper body.