This is the scary moment a trapped leopard tries to attack a forest official, who was trying to rescue it.

The leopard repeatedly tries to tug at the barbed wire that had snared it and charge at the official, who was aiming his tranquiliser gun at it.

An eyewitness Mahadeva Nayaka, 51, said: “If the wires had come loose, the leopard could have injured the man seriously. Luckily, he managed to shoot it in time.”

The incident occurred at a village near H. D. Kote in Karnataka, India, on July 28.

A farmer had fenced his farm with barbed wire to prevent wild animals from a nearby forest straying in. On the night of July 27, a leopard tried to sneak in to steal a chicken but got trapped.

The villagers heard the leopard growling angrily through the night. The next morning they saw the trapped animal and alerted local forest officials.

“None dared to get close as the animal was desperately trying to free itself. It could have attacked many people if it had succeeded,” said Nayaka.

The rescue was a challenge as wild growth had covered the barbed wire fence and hidden the leopard making it difficult for anyone to take a clean shot at it.

An official mustered up the courage to get close and shot the leopard as it emerged out of the green cover to charge at him.

The animal was successfully tranquilised and then freed from the barbed wire. It was taken away by the forest officials, who treated it for minor injuries, and later set it free in the nearby forest.

This is the scary moment a trapped leopard tries to attack a forest official, who was trying to rescue it.

The leopard repeatedly tries to tug at the barbed wire that had snared it and charge at the official, who was aiming his tranquiliser gun at it.

An eyewitness Mahadeva Nayaka, 51, said: “If the wires had come loose, the leopard could have injured the man seriously. Luckily, he managed to shoot it in time.”

The incident occurred at a village near H. D. Kote in Karnataka, India, on July 28.

A farmer had fenced his farm with barbed wire to prevent wild animals from a nearby forest straying in. On the night of July 27, a leopard tried to sneak in to steal chicken, but got trapped.

The villagers heard the leopard growling angrily through the night. The next morning they saw the trapped animal and alerted local forest officials.

“None dared to get close as the animal was desperately trying to free itself. It could have attacked many people if it had succeeded,” said Nayaka.

Rescue was a challenge as wild growth had covered the barbed wire fence and hidden the leopard making it difficult for anyone to take a clean shot at it.

An official mustered up the courage to get close and shot the leopard as it emerged out of the green cover to charge at him.

The animal was successfully tranquilised and then freed from the barbed wire. It was taken away by the forest officials, who treated it for minor injuries, and later set it free in the nearby forest.