Brave Dog Holds Its Ground When A Leopard Attempted To Attack It In Indian Safari

Sep 26, 2018

Have you ever heard the old Mark Twain adage, “It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.” The quote rings quite true for the dog in this story, who had to hold his ground against a leopard in an Indian Safari.

The quote is, of course, meant to be inspirational. It’s saying that we must be tough on the inside, even if we may feel as though we are inadequate to face the obstacles in front of us. The dog in this story brings new life to this saying and adapts it very literally. Every dog may have his day, but the dog in this story had more than its fair share of challenges regarding a feline!

Certainly not a typical cat and dog story, tourists managed to capture the entire ordeal at Jhalana Safari Park, near Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.

Many locals and forest officials are aware of the roaming leopard, enough to even name her “Juliet.” On this particular day, a dog made his way from a nearby village and snuck into the park.

Possibly looking to score some free food, the dog was attracted to the crowd of people. Meanwhile, Juliet was watching the unsuspicious dog, and began to approach stealthily from the forest as tourists began to take notice. The dog decided to lay down on the pavement, still unsuspecting. Juliet took this as her moment to strike. Tourists nervously watched to see how the scene might play out, and most were likely surprised by the outcome.

The dog’s initial “fight of flight” response led the dog to choose the former of the two, likely realizing that he certainly did not have the speed to outrun the leopard. The first yelp out of the dog is either fear or pain, as it’s difficult to tell if he was scratched or grazed at all by the leopard’s claws.

Then, the brave boy chose “fight,” held his ground, and began barking fearlessly.

This move managed to take Juliet, the leopard, somewhat off guard. She then stopped dead in her tracks, to stare down the dog. The dog continues his display of courage, even if he does look towards the tourists at one point, almost as if soliciting their assistance in the matter. His brave barking continued even after his attacker sauntered back into the forest. One forest official said of the ending of the attack that

“Juliet left quietly as there were visitors in jeeps behind the dog. If not, it is unlikely that the dog would have survived the encounter.”

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Maybe Mark Twain’s old proverb came from a true-life example, like this dog that was brave enough to fight for his own life against a larger and faster animal. It’s always a good saying to remember!