No, the Leopard seen behaving like a domesticated animal was not drunk, but sick.
Claim
In the village Taragarh, the leopard drank alcohol from the distillery of raw liquor and forgot that he is a lion *turned into a wet cat*
Rating
Explanation
A video of a mob petting and playing with a leopard, taking selfies with it, and even one among them trying to ride on it is being circulated to claim that the leopard drank alcohol from the distillery of raw liquor and forgot that he is a lion in Taragarh village. Some of the posts with such a claim can be seen here and here.
https://twitter.com/ramkaryadhar/status/1697779534198866064?s=46&t=kIszbQH_arRSG8kPbuGeZw
What is the truth?
When searching with relevant keywords we found that the leopard was ill and the act of not reacting fiercely is due to its illness and not because of alcohol consumption. We found a post carrying the video by an X user Gautam Trivedi. The caption of the post says that it happened in Iklera, Madhya Pradesh and that the leopard was rescued by the Forest department.
Villagers take selfie with a seemingly dazed and confused leopard in Iklera, MP. This could've gone so wrong. Thankfully the leopard was rescued by Forest Department. pic.twitter.com/KISTIasfqD
— Gautam Trivedi (@KaptanHindustan) August 30, 2023
A post by PTI mentions that a forest guard official said “A team from Ujjain is reaching to capture the leopard and the animal will be shifted based on the directions of the higher officials”.
VIDEO | Rescue operation underway by forest officials in Madhya Pradesh’s Iklera village after a leopard was found by locals in a dazed state. “A team from Ujjain is reaching to capture the leopard and the animal will be shifted based on the directions of the higher officials,”… pic.twitter.com/NHpS0f1Mx6
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 30, 2023
With further search, we found multiple news articles mentioning that the animal was sick. NDTV reported that a leopard was seen roaming in the forest near Iklera in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district. The villagers initially were scared of it but later found that it was unwell from its activities. Then they gathered around the leopard and played with it.
On receiving the information from a villager, the forest department rescued the leopard and took the two-year-old leopard to Van Vihar in Bhopal for treatment. It is reported that the animal was in critical condition. Times of India reported that the sick leopard is suffering from neurological disorder.
Conclusion
It is found that the leopard in the video is dizzy due to illness and not because of liquor consumption. And it is to be noted that the animal is suffering from neurological disorder.
