Never thought one would come for us’: Leopard enters bedroom at night; Uttarakhand man fights off big cat to save wife

DEHRADUN: A man fought off a leopard that entered their bedroom and attacked his wife, trying to drag her out by the head in a home adjacent to a forested area in Rudraprayag around 3am Tuesday. The leopard burst through the wooden door of the couple's kuccha house and attacked Kusla Devi, 38, who was asleep beside her husband, their heads placed near the door for ventilation in the humid July night.Within seconds, her skull was locked between the predator's jaws. Her husband, Nathalal, 55, instinctively grabbed her legs and began pulling back. For a few harrowing moments, he found himself in a tug of war with the leopard, both refusing to let go.I pulled with everything I had," he said later, speaking from Agastyamuni govt hospital, where Kusla was being treated for injuries to her head, face and back. "If her legs had been near the door instead of her head, she'd be gone."Doctors said Kusla received five stitches on her head and two to three on her face. There was a deep claw mark on her back as well. She is stable and expected to be discharged soon. Kusla and Nathalal have lived in the same home for 25 years, never imagining a night like this one. "We've heard of leopards," he said, "but never thought one would come for us, inside our home."Rudraprayag's divisional forest officer, Kalyani Negi, said the house stood in a secluded spot surrounded by reserved forest. "The area is part of an old leopard habitat," she said. "We have installed camera traps, increased patrolling and are sharing safety protocols with villagers, especially during monsoon when wildlife movement tends to spike."On Monday, at least two other wildlife-related incidents were reported in Uttarakhand.