A leopard snatched her child from her. She chased him down and rescued him

Sanjay-Dubri National Park and Tiger Reserve is located in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

(CNN) -

A child kidnapped by a leopard is lucky to be alive after the animal released him when his mother chased him.

The anonymous boy, believed to be around 5 years old, was sitting in his cabin with his mother and siblings when the big cat approached, according to local authorities.

The woman, who has been locally named Kiran Baiga, jumped up and chased the animal while screaming, according to YP Singh, field director of the Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve and National Park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Mother Kiran Baiga chased after the leopard after he snatched her son from her.

As in other national parks in India, Sanjay-Dubri has a core where most of the wildlife resides.

It is surrounded by a containment zone where some people live alongside free-roaming animals.

Singh said the family lives in Badi Jhiriya village, which is within the reserve's buffer zone, which is not fenced.

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In recounting the episode, which took place on November 30, Singh told CNN: "The lady was sitting in her hut with her children when the leopard arrived. She took the child and began to flee when the lady chased after him, screaming. , and more people appeared, so the leopard released the boy and ran away. "

The boy suffered minor injuries but is now fully recovered, according to Singh.

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"He was not badly injured, but the leopard's teeth had sunk in. He was admitted to hospital and is now completely fine," he said.

Although called a tiger reserve, the park is home to a wide range of animals, including 32 species of mammals, including leopards.

Singh said wildlife teams monitor the region, but added: "A leopard doesn't care what the core or the containment zone is, there is no fixed boundary for them."

"These forests are monitored by forest officials, but it is not possible to track each and every movement of wild animals. Only animals with collars can be tracked, otherwise the animals move freely," he said.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Madhya Pradesh's chief minister, tweeted on Tuesday that the mother chased the animal for a full kilometer.

She added: "This courage to face death is an amazing form of motherhood. Congratulations to mother Ms. Kiran Baiga on behalf of the people of the state."