A 25-year-old Zimbabwean man identified as James Chauke has been hospitalized over injuries he sustained after fighting off a leopard that attacked him while he was relieving himself in the bush.
Chauke who is now receiving treatment at the Gwanda Provincial Hospital told local media on Wednesday, January 11, 2023, that he thought he was going to die after the big cat ambushed him.
He said; “It was around lunchtime yesterday (Tuesday) when I was working at a plot close to a dense forest.
“I went to relieve myself. I saw some impalas and other animals and didn’t realise that they were being hunted by a leopard. I was among the animals and never thought there was a dangerous animal.
“I heard growls, but I just thought they were baboons eating something. Ndakati kogudo ririkungoramba richibhonga igudo rudzii. And when I turned to look back, I saw that it was a leopard.
“It was already too late as it was charging at me. When it jumped at me, I grabbed its front leg. I managed to pick up a stone and bashed its mouth.
“It was a moment of life and death for me, and I just kept hitting its mouth with a stone.”
Chauke said it must have been a female leopard with cubs because he heard cries of cubs. He doesn’t remember how he got help or who took him to the hospital.