A model whose face was ripped open by leopard during a photoshoot has showed off her 2022 calendar featuring the wild cat moments before it pounced.
Jessica Leidolph was left disfigured by the attack which almost cost the 36-year-old her life.
She was mauled by the creature and after the animal’s claw caught her carotid artery, it caused her to lose pints and pints of blood.
She now has three metal plates on the right side of her face having attempted to bring out the product to raise funds to support unwanted animals.
Now Jessica has decided to publish the calendar – despite the torment the shoot caused.
The page for August will always be etched in the model’s mind as within seconds of posing, the big cat called Troya pounced, biting her face and head.
Jessica, who also worked as an animal rights activist and a physiotherapist, was critically injured after Troja attacked her out of nowhere during a photoshoot at a retirement home for show animals in the German city of Nebra.
She underwent surgery after she was taken to the nearest hospital by helicopter on 24th August.
But Jessica, who will reportedly have to carry the attack scars forever, begged the authorities not to put the big cat down, saying: “I don’t want the animal to be killed, it just followed its instincts.
“It was unfortunate. I am glad there was no request to euthanise the animal.”
Jessica entered the leopards’ enclosure at the ‘Seniorenresidenz fur Showtiere’ – a retirement home for show animals – when the 16-year-old leopard suddenly attacked her.
Troja and another leopard living in the enclosure named Paris, 18, had once graced TV screens in an advert for multinational electronics giant Panasonic before they were moved to the retirement home in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
She said: “He attacked me, I couldn’t look that fast. I was sitting by the tree trunk and all of a sudden I was lying on the ground. He bit into my cheek, ear, head, and then again and again on my head.
“And then I screamed, put my hands in front of my face. At some point, he let go of me for a moment so that I could roll away and get out of the cage. A little while later, the ambulance and helicopter were there.”
Jessica, who was brought to the hospital with severely bleeding wounds and was immediately operated on.
She said she lost consciousness and the next thing she heard was the helicopter airlifting her to hospital.
However, instead of holding grudges, Jessica, who will reportedly have to carry the attack scars forever, has now shared images of the photoshoot as her new calendar is printed ahead of the new year.
She said: “I have been making yearly calendars with sexy photos of me and my proteges for many years.
“The sales will be used to maintain my private animal sanctuary.”