A brave act to rescue man’s best friend ended tragically for a 65-year-old herd boy of Zobidao Ranch in Sojwe.
The unfortunate man was attacked and killed by a leopard on Wednesday afternoon as he attempted to rescue his dog from the angry cat.
The 65-year-old herd boy, and six other men including his employer, together with their dogs reportedly tracked down a leopard that had killed two calves the previous night.
It didn’t take long for the canines to smoke out the leopard from its hiding place.
Cornered and scared, the feline immediately went on the attack causing massive damage to the dogs.
The Voice learnt that in his attempt to rescue one of the injured dogs, the deceased was also attacked by the cat, biting him on the neck, leaving him with a deep gaping wound.
As he fought for his life, all the other five men bolted, leaving him at the mercy of an infuriated apex predator.
They returned after a while, and found him unconscious, while the leopard was nowhere to be found.
The deceased was taken to Sojwe Clinic where he was certified dead by the medical doctor and later taken to Scottish Livingstone Hospital mortuary where its kept waiting for postmortem examination.
Sojwe Police Station Commander, Superintendent Kitsiso Lemogang, who confirmed the incident to this publication, advised members of the community, particularly farmers to always report sightings of wild animals to wildlife officials to assist, instead of taking matters into their own hands.