We all know the saying: It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog that matters.
We all know it as an inspirational saying that means we should be tough inside no matter what handicaps we have when facing obstacles.
However, one dog in India managed to give life to this saying in a most literal manner when it managed to face down, and prevail against, a leopard of all creatures. It’s definitely not your usual cat and dog story!
The incident happened at the Jhalana Safari Park located near Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Tourists who witnessed the confrontation managed to capture video of the scene.
The leopard was well-known by forest officials and is actually named Juliet. It so happened that while some tourists were visiting the park, a local dog from a nearby village managed to sneak into the area. Perhaps it was attracted by the groups of people and was hoping to weasel some free food out of them.
Unknown to the dog, Juliet also noticed and started stalking the unsuspecting canine. Tourists also became aware of what the leopard was doing as it stealthily approached from within the forest cover.
When the dog decided to lay down on the road, that’s when Juliet decided to strike. Tourists breathlessly waited to see what would happen and the next scene was something they probably didn’t imagine.
Amid the dog’s yelp of fear (and maybe pain, as it wasn’t clear if Juliet had managed to graze the dog with its claws) it’s probably easy to imagine what was going through the dog’s head. Fight or flight? On an instinctive level, the dog probably knew that it couldn’t outrun the leopard since the feline had a significant size advantage.
That’s when the brave dog decided to hold its ground and start barking like crazy. Taken aback by the show of fearlessness, Juliet stops in her tracks and stares the dog down.
But the dog doesn’t relent and even looks towards the tourists at one time, perhaps pleading, “Hey, I’m in a bind here. Some help, please?”
Nevertheless, the tactic worked as the leopard slowly backed away to slink back into the trees. Not satisfied, the dog kept barking long after Juliet had disappeared back into the forest.
Speaking about the encounter, one 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.”
That was certainly a very brave thing for the dog to have done. Perhaps that saying about the size of the fight in the dog came from a real-life example after all!