London: Former Zimbabwean Test cricketer Guy Whittall had a close shave recently after being attacked by a leopard.
The 51-year-old Whittall, who played 46 test matches and 147 ODIs during an international career from 1993 to 2003, runs a safari business at Humani in Zimbabwe.
While he was trekking through his forest reserve on Tuesday, a leopard charged at Whittall and wounded him. As he bleeded profusely,
After the bleeding Whittall was attended to and stabilised at a nearby clinic, he was airlifted to Harare for emergency surgery.
Whittall’s wife Hannah Stooks shared his ordeal on Facebook, with a detailed post and photos showing his injuries.
Revealing that Whittall had lost a lot of blood as a result of the leopard attack, Hannah thanked all the staff and especially his trackers and handler, who managed to get the big cat off the former cricketer’s body despite themselves getting mauled.
“Guy and I are overwhelmed by the hundreds of messages of well wishers after Guy’s run in with a wounded leopard earlier today — We are very fortunate that he was stabilized at Hippo Clinic by wonderful staff. He was then airlifted from Buffalo Range by Ace Ambulance to Harare, then transferred to Milton Park Hospital for treatment,” Hannah wrote.
This is not the first time that Whittal has had encounters with wild animals.
In 2013, he woke up to find an 8-foot-long crocodile beneath his bed at Humani lodge. The 150 kg crocodile had slipped in unnoticed and remained there through the night until a housemaid noticed it during the next morning.
