This is the stunning moment a young leopard pounces on a dog that had strayed into a forest in India.

The dog, a favourite prey of the feline, manages to survive the attack and even barks away the predator.

The extraordinary encounter occurred at Jhalana safari park near Jaipur, Rajasthan.

A group of visitors were baffled to encounter a dog limping inside the safari trail and stopped their vehicles.

Happy to see them, the dog, from a nearby village, sat down to rest and went to sleep.

That was when the visitors spotted a young leopard stalking the dog from behind the bushes.

As they kept their cameras ready the leopard pounced upon the dog.

Caught by surprise and fearing for its life, the dog launched a counterattack and barked continuously at the leopard.

The two-year-old female leopard, named ‘Juliet’ by forest officials, which frequents the area, looked baffled. It stood for some time looking intently at the dog before walking away, clearly disappointed.

The dog continued to bark at the retreating animal though keeping its tail tucked in between its hind legs.

A forest official said: “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.”

The incident occurred on September 2.

This is the stunning moment a young leopard pounces on a dog that had strayed into a forest.

The dog, a favourite prey of the feline, manages to survive the attack and even barks away the predator.

The extraordinary encounter occurred at Jhalana safari park near Jaipur, Rajasthan.

A group of visitors were baffled to encounter a dog limping inside the safari trail and stopped their vehicles.

Happy to see them, the dog, from a nearby village, sat down to rest and went to sleep.

That was when the visitors spotted a young leopard stalking the dog from behind the bushes.

As they kept their cameras ready the leopard pounced upon the dog.

Caught by surprise and fearing for its life, the dog launched a counterattack and barked continuously at the leopard.

The two-year-old female leopard, named ‘Juliet’ by forest officials, which frequents the area, looked baffled. It stood for sometime looking intently at the dog and then walked away looking a little disappointed.

The dog continued to bark at the retreating animal though keeping its tail tucked in between its hind legs.

A forest official said: “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.”