The leopard comes to the Indian village on a regular basis. Farmers aren’t opposed to such a neighborhood because cats eat field pests, which means the crop yields more, and cats are afraid of people. That time, however, things were different.
The female with the cub terrorized the peasants by frequenting the fields near the village. Local residents filed complaints with the highest courts, and the Department of Wild Animals dispatched a trapping specialist.
The next night, a female leopard was caught in a cage set up in the field with live bait. The cat was transported to a nearby forest and released there, away from the fields. The kitten was left alone.
A month later, complaints began to pour in: farmers had encountered a young leopard here and there. They were certain it was a female leopard cub who had gone missing.
When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered an incredible scene that left even the most seasoned hunters speechless. Farmers lived in a hut on the village’s outskirts. A leopard climbed into their yard at night, most likely the same one that was bothering the local peasants.
She approached the cow, but instead of charging her, she rubbed up against her and knelt beside her. The big cat came into the yard night after night to cuddle with the cow. Surprisingly, the cow did not show any signs of fear. She hugged the leopard’s neck, licked her, and lay next to her, cuddling her side, as if she were her calf.
This story has touched the hearts of people all over the world.
On some nights, 30 people gathered in the surrounding bushes and on the hut’s roof – but the leopard seemed unconcerned. The cat continued to approach. Even the other horned residents of the yard eventually stopped being afraid of the leopard. She didn’t even touch them, treating them as if they were completely inedible.
No one has been able to determine the exact reason for this strange and touching attachment. The prime minister’s wife, who raised an orphaned tiger cub herself, believes the motherless leopard encountered this cow – perhaps she, too, had lost a calf – and imprinted.
They’ve treated each other like family since then, ignoring the fact that they’re from different species. And the peasants in the area simply believe that the cow and the leopard were once friends.