Thieves in for a surprise

The owner of a rare species of leopard said his car was stolen yesterday in St Petersburg and the thieves were in for a surprise - a baby leopard in the boot.

"My driver and I were in the process of settling the leopard in the trunk of my Mercedes ... when three masked assailants attacked us. They managed to get away with the car," said Mikhail Barakin.

He is offering a reward of 70,000 ($162,965) for the return of his exotic pet, an Asian leopard cat.

"I am worried about the leopard. I don't need the Mercedes. If someone returns the animal, I won't press charges," he said.

Barakin, who heads a private television station in St Petersburg, said the rare breed of leopard was a gift from a Moscow businessman. It is not an endangered animal.