A man in India fought off a leopard after the animal attacked his daughter and tried to drag her away into the fields in a village.

The incident took place Monday evening in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh. According to local reports, the girl was walking near the fields when the leopard pounced on her and grabbed her. The father, who was nearby, immediately chased the leopard and started beating the animal with sticks and stones, News 18 reported. The leopard then released the girl from his grasp and fled.

As the father was attacking the leopard and shouting, nearby residents came out of their house and helped him scare the big cat away. The forest officials of the Solan district were informed about the incident Tuesday.

Senior officials of the forest department, along with other members of the team arrived at the scene for inspection, News18 reported. The Himachal Forest Department officials also visited the victim’s house to know her condition.

The girl did not sustain any serious injuries, according to local media Amarujala. She was taken to a nearby hospital for a medical examination to ascertain if there was any serious internal injury.

Several leopard attack cases have been reported from across the state of Himachal Pradesh in recent months.

In a similar courageous act in September, a 55-year-old woman was caught on camera fighting off a leopard that charged at her from behind. The incident took place in the western state of Maharashtra. In the video, the woman is seen fending off the animal despite it catching her off guard. Reports identified the victim as Nirmala Singh, a resident of Aarey Colony near India's financial capital, Mumbai. The video shows the leopard lurking behind the bushes of Singh's home. The leopard then slowly closes in on the woman and attacks her. However, the woman manages to use her walking stick to scare the animal away. Fortunately, Singh managed to escape with minor scratches on her arms and legs. She was rushed to a hospital and was said to be in a stable condition at the time.

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Leopard | Representational Image pixabay