This is the moment a kind-hearted biker takes his life in his hands to give a leopard a terrifying ride as a pillion passenger to get it to a vet.
The big cat had been severely weakened by dehydration in soaring temperatures in
Bagivalu village, Hassan district in south-western India’s Karnataka state.
A local farmer – named only as Muttu, 25 – saw it staggering on his land and knew it would not survive unless he acted quickly.
So – reported local media – he tied the weakened leopard to the back of his motorcycle and rode straight to the vet’s surgery.
Video footage of the bizarre ride shows the big cat strapped to the back of the bike as the farmer sets off cross country.
Neighbours alerted forestry officials concerned that he might be a big game poacher trying to escape with a trophy.
Local forestry official Ashish Reddy said that the young leopard had been too dehydrated and too tired to move.
He said: “It is around nine months old and must have strayed into the village in search of food.”
Since being handed over the condition of the leopard is stable.
