After being attacked by a leopard in the northern state of Uttarakhand in India, a local woman refused to admit defeat, instead returning blows and killing the animal in under a half an hour with only farm tools.

Kamla Devi, 56, had been collecting water from a canal and was carrying it back to her field when she was confronted by the leopard.

Via the BBC:

She said she managed to smash some of the animal's teeth during the struggle.

"I fought head on with it for almost half an hour. Then I came to know it was dead," she told reporters from hospital in the nearby town of Srinagar Garhwal.

Doctors were surprised she had survived.

Devi's body was covered in bite marks and deep injuries to her head and legs, doctors told the BBC. The leopard reportedly pounced on her as she was returning home on Sunday morning.

When the leopard attacked, Devi didn't submit. Instead, she fought back.

"I thought I was dead but I did not lose patience and courage," she said to the media after getting attacked. With a sickle alone, the leopard was killed and Kamla Devi became my hero.

[Image via BBC]