Boy, 12, Outsmarts Leopard in Close Encounter—Video

The story of a 12-year-old boy in India who calmly dealt with a dangerous situation involving a leopard has become a social media sensation.

The boy, Mohit Ahire, faced an unexpected confrontation with the big cat when it wandered into an office where he was playing on his mobile phone.

“The leopard was so close,” he told the Times of India. “There was hardly any space between the leopard and me. It walked into the office’s inner cabin right before me. I was scared, but I quietly got off the bench and sneaked out of the office. I closed the door behind me.”

A CCTV camera captured a video, shared on X, formerly Twitter, of the chilling encounter, which has since gone viral. The footage revealed the boy, Mohit Ahire, deeply engrossed in his mobile phone when he noticed the leopard entering the room. Despite the proximity of the wild animal, it appeared not to notice him as it walked inside the office. Displaying no sign of panic, Ahire calmly rose from his seat, exited the room, and securely closed the door behind him.

The incident unfolded on Tuesday at the Sai Celebration wedding hall, located along the Malegaon-Nampur Road in India’s Maharashtra state, marking a moment of courage under pressure, the Times of India said.

The boy is the son of a security guard at the venue, the Hindustan Times reported.

Reports said he demonstrated remarkable composure and quick thinking by quietly and quickly exiting the room and locking the leopard inside. After securing the room, the youngster promptly informed his father of the unexpected visitor, showcasing bravery and the presence of mind in an emergency.

“The dimensions of the booking office are 22 feet × 10 feet. We have created two compartments in the office. Mohit Ahire was seated in the first compartment near the entrance. The leopard headed straight into the inner cabin without noticing the boy,” Anil Pawar, the wedding hall owner, told the Times of India.

This incident caught the local community’s attention, as the leopard’s presence had already been observed in a nearby residential area. This had led to a coordinated search operation involving locals, police and forest officials.

Following the boy’s alert, a forest officer from the Malegaon range collaborated with the Nashik city team to ensure the safe tranquilization and rescue of the five-year-old male leopard, thereby preventing any risk to human life, the Hindustan Times reported.