Wild Leopard Enters School And Attacks Six People

Video shows the big cat biting one man, who was not seriously injured.

A wild leopard mauled one man and attacked five other people after it entered a school in Bangalore, India, on Sunday.

Dramatic footage shows the animal biting wildlife conservationist Sanjay Gubbi on the arm next to a swimming pool at Vibgyor High School.

Gubbi was not seriously injured in the attack. The other people, including a local TV station cameraman, suffered minor injuries.

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A man with a tranquilizer gun looks on as a leopard attacks a man identified as Sanjay Gubbi.
STR/AFP/Getty Images

The drama began after a security guard saw surveillance video of the leopard roaming the school's halls early Sunday morning, according to a timeline published by The Hindu.

By the late afternoon, forestry officials managed to track the animal to the bushes near the school, but it fled back onto the campus as they approached it. They tried locking the big cat inside a room, but it pushed its way out through the flimsy mesh windows.

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Gubbi, right, appears to run from the leopard after it entered a high school on Feb. 7, 2015.
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Officials eventually shot the leopard with tranquilizer darts at 6:30 p.m. Instead of immediately passing out, however, the animal charged at them and began to attack, injuring Gubbi and the others.

Two hours later, the drugs finally took effect and the leopard walked inside and collapsed on the floor of the pool's changing room.

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People run away as the leopard attacks.
STR/AFP/Getty Images

As a precaution, officials waited another hour before removing the leopard and taking it to Bannerghatta Biological Park for observation. Officials plan to make a decision about where to relocate the animal on Monday.

Luckily, no students were present on Sunday when the leopard entered the school. Classes resumed on Monday after the premises were sanitized.

There are between 12,000 to 14,000 leopards in India, according to The Independent. These incidents are becoming more frequent as humans encroach on the animals' natural habitat.

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