An individual visiting a zoo in India tragically lost his life after climbing into a lion enclosure to take a selfie, as per various sources.
Prahlad Gurjar, a 34-year-old man from the Alwar District in northern India, was at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati, India on Thursday. He spotted a 12-year-old male Asiatic Lion named Dungpar in an enclosure, as reported by People.
According to The Times of India, the man, seemingly intoxicated, proceeded to scale the enclosure’s safety wall and metal fence, ignoring the zoo employee’s protests and warnings during their routine rounds.
The zoo provided a statement to People, stating that the man entered the habitat intentionally, apparently to take a selfie with the lion.
Lion Fatally Attacks Zoo Visitor: Swift Response and Investigation Follow Tragic Incident
According to a statement, the animal attacked after encountering a human inside the enclosure, as reported by People. “Despite the efforts of the animal keeper and security staff in the vicinity to rescue the individual, the animal managed to pull them into the enclosure.”
According to The Times of India, the man was attacked and killed by a lion within 10 minutes of entering its enclosure, succumbing to excessive bleeding from his wounds. An ambulance and police were summoned to the scene, and the lion was moved to a different holding area to facilitate the retrieval of the body by officials. The man was identified by the authorities through identification cards discovered on his body and immediately informed his family.
Gurjar’s remains were taken to a government hospital for a post-mortem examination, and the police and the zoo have initiated an investigation.
“We have implemented strict measures to avoid such occurrences. We will revisit the security measures to avoid similar incidents in the future,” stated zoo curator C Selvam in an interview with The Times.