Daniel M’Mburugu was tending his crops when suddenly a leopard attacked him, but the grandfather lived to tell the tale.

We're taking a look at Ben Thompson's book "Badass" and finding some of our favorite badasses in history. A few months ago, we discovered an amazing website Badass of the Week. The creator, Ben Thompson, founded the site so others could learn about various badass men and women in history. The site has been around since 2004 and Thompson has written several books on the subject of Badasses through history, as well as the Guts and Glory series of books. Both series look at various types of heroes and villains throughout history. While reading these books, we've found interesting facts, stories and people that we believe should be highlighted so you know more about them.

Back in February, we discussed how difficult it must have been for a Colorado runner to kill a mountain lion with his bare hands. Travis Kauffman is a fit man in his early 30s but it was still surprising that he was able to be attacked by a mountain lion and live to tell the tale. After the news broke, we found out that the lion was a “kitten” of about 3 to 4 months old and about 35 pounds. This made me want to find an example of someone else surviving an animal attack. Please enter the 73-year-old grandfather from Kenya who tore a tongue out of a leopard and killed it.

Daniel M’Mburugu was a rural farmer in an area near Mount Kenya. One day Daniel was tending to his potato and bean crops when suddenly out of the long grass surrounding the fields, a leopard leaped out and attacked him. He said that the leopard let out a vicious snarl and the birds and animals surrounding him went deathly silent right before he saw the beast.  The leopard leaped on top of him and began mauling the elderly man, scratching and biting him. He said he knew he was looking death in the face and began looking for the machete he carried with him in the fields when he says he heard another voice in his head. He told a media outlet that God whispered to him to drop the panga and thrust his hand into the big cat’s mouth and pull on his tongue- so he did. He said the leopard bite down on his wrist but he still didn’t let go. He pulled on the tongue with all his strength and after a few minutes that felt like hours, he felt the leopard’s breath start to get labored and he knew he was winning.

Finally, he was able to pull the beasts tongue out of its mouth and the dangerous creature took its last breath. After it was clear that the brute was long dead, the villagers came out to see what was left of Daniel. To their surprise, there was the senior with scratches, bruises and bite marks but still alive. He was given free medical treatment at the local hospital and astonished authorities to not only survive but be walking after the attack. Daniel became a hero in his village and around the world and is the very worthy recipient as this week’s Bad Ass of the Week.

 

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