Kuala Lampur, April 10 -- They size each other up. These were agonising seconds for the one in denim and fairly instinctual for the other. Man faces black panther.

On this Friday afternoon of April 4, 2025 along the backroads of Jelebu.

Separating them was life in the jungle, and living in lorries through hundreds of thousands of miles over a quarter of a century.

He could not and would not back away from the predator. I cannot imagine the fear gripping him then, but Poobala of Port Dickson understood this was not a choice.

It snarled, growled and leapt at him.

It was over in less than half a minute. The black panther in these parts is a leopard. What it lacks in size and speed compared to the tiger, it makes up by being a stealthy s...