A leopard dodged a watery grave after plunging into a deep well. <br /><br />It managed to climb to safety a few feet above water using step-stones laid to help people go down the 45-feet circular well for maintenance work. <br /><br />The leopard fell into the well on the night of November 20 when it strayed into a village near Rajapur in Maharashtra, India, in search of a meal. <br /><br />A local man, who was passing by the well the next morning, spotted the leopard deftly perched like a bird on two small stones just above the water. <br /><br />As the word spread a crowd quickly gathered to watch the animal. <br />A villager informed the forest officials, who rushed to the spot, and launched a difficult rescue operation. They lowered a ladder to help the leopard climb up right into a cage that had been placed on the edge of the well. <br /><br />The leopard though in distress kept growling furiously and the forest officials had to use all their tricks to coax it to climb up. <br /><br />Ramesh Patil of Ratnagiri said, “Though the forest officials are familiar with the rescue work, the leopard tested their patience and took nearly five hours to come up.” <br /><br />“It was also incredibly lucky. It managed to find a step-stone and climb out of water in pitch darkness,” he added.<br /><br />The leopard, a male of four to five years of age, was later released in a nearby forest.
