Villagers watch and wonder as a leopard visits a cow each night!

VALDORA, Gujarat, India (PNN) - May 26, 2023 - In 2002, the quiet village of Antoli in Vadodara, Gujarat, India, had a nightly visitor, a leopard. After they observed the wild animal for some time, it became obvious that the creature wasn’t looking to cause harm.

Instead, she was looking for someone, an unlikely friend who seemingly brought her comfort during the night as the villagers watched on in amazement.

In 2002, the town of Antoli in Vadodara, Gujarat, was experiencing an uptick in leopard sightings… a wild animal no one in the village particularly wanted to encounter while walking through town.

So, the forest rangers decided to take drastic measures to ensure the safety of the public, relocating the leopards to a nearby forest.

The relocation gave the townspeople some peace of mind. That is until one particular leopard began making nightly trips back into the village. The wild animal wasn't there to cause anyone harm, though.

She didn't even seem to want to take any food lying around. All the leopard seemed to want was a cow.

It all started when one family noticed a leopard walking around their yard at night. Of course, they were scared. The family owned two bulls and a cow; they didn't want their animals to get tangled up with a wild leopard.

To their astonishment, though something else happened entirely - something amazing.

It turned out the leopard wanted nothing to do with the two bulls on the property. It went straight for the cow, almost as if she knew the farm animal.

As the leopard approached, the family watched as the cow showed no signs of terror. The cow actually walked forward to meet the leopard.

Amazed, the family watched on. It looked as though the two animals knew one another, two unlikely friends who seemed completely at ease in the presence of one another.

The cow even went as far as licking the leopard's head! There were zero signs of aggression on either animal's end.

While some people thought the leopard was left at childbirth or its mother passed away, sources have proven the claims false. It seemed as though the leopard just enjoyed the company of the cow.

The wild animal would show up at the house every night, going to see its friend for a few hours.

While it looked as though the leopard had a pretty set schedule for meeting up with her friend, it stopped. The family of the cow is unsure where the leopard went after November 29, since he never returned until later in December.

Even so, townspeople said they saw the large cat around.

When the leopard visited the cow, the two would hang out like age-old friends. They would walk around together, lick each other's heads, and even cuddle on the ground with one another.

It was quite a sight to behold since the animals seemed to really care for each other.

Sadly, the last time the leopard came around to see her friend was the first week of March in 2003. After that, the family never saw the leopard on their property again.

They're not sure where the wild animal ran off to, but they are happy their cow had a friend.

Since the story of the cow and leopard came about in a viral story, many people speculated as to why the wild animal was so friendly with a farm animal.

Some thought the leopard was left as a cub, and the cow offered milk and safety for her.

These stories have been exaggerated over the years, with sources proving the leopard's supposed abandonment being false. While no one really knows how the leopard first came into contact with the cow, their friendship was put on nightly display for the family.

The leopard never showed any aggression toward the cow.

According to the Times of India, "The big cat slowly rolls over and raises one paw and puts it gently on the cow's head and makes purring sounds."

"The cow lets out a soft 'moo’ in response and licks the leopard. The leopard, obviously in a playful mood, sits there waiting to be cuddled."

The unlikely friendship between the two animals might have started with the family, but it soon attracted the attention of some of the other villagers. Eventually, small crowds waited around, hoping to see the leopard interact with the cow.

They even began gathering on nearby rooftops, hoping for a small glimpse.

According to Rohit Vyas, an honorary wildlife warden of Vadodara and someone who witnessed the interaction between the leopard and cow, "We have been keeping watch, but unfortunately, the frequency of the leopard's visits has decreased."

Vyas was not sure the reason behind the leopard's departure, only that it stopped coming around.

While many people have speculated over how the leopard and cow knew each other and why they were friends, no one knows for sure. During an interview with the Times of India, conservationist H.S. Singh said, "Sometimes animal behavior can get modified."

Singh further explained this reasoning had to do with the area the leopard lived.

H.S. Singh went on, telling the Times of India, "In this case, probably because the leopard which has passed the sub-adult stage, lives in a rural area and not strictly a wild environment."

Due to the rural area the leopard lived in, she might have been used to seeing farm animals around and grew up not intending to hurt them.

As it turns out, people got down to the truth of what happened to the leopard's mother. It seems as though she was relocated to the nearby forest along with other leopards in the area and was separated from her young cub.

Even so, it does not explain the relationship between the sub-adult female and cow.

While no one is likely ever to know how the leopard and cow became friends, the world is pretty pleased that they were lucky enough to witness the remarkable companionship between two unlikely creatures.

Getting footage of the relationship is all thanks to the family's curious six-year-old, who bore witness to the two animals' initial interaction.