Goa, June 21 -- Panic gripped the residents of Varchawada, Dhavalim, on the night of 19 June after a fully grown leopard entered the courtyard of a house in the Kulagar Bagayat area at the foothills, in an apparent attempt to poach a dog.

Mangal Gaude narrowly escaped a terrifying encounter when she stepped outside around 7.30 pm, alerted by the loud barking of her two dogs. "It was a close shave," she said, recounting the moment she saw the leopard charging into her courtyard. "Seeing me and hearing my cries for help, the confused leopard abandoned its attempt to catch the dog and disappeared from the site."

Her dogs managed to escape unscathed and fled into the house for safety. Gaude added, "I heaved a sigh of relief as the leopard, ...