A lion mauled a man to death in India after he “deliberately” jumped into a zoo enclosure, according to the facility.
Prahalad Gurjar entered the SV Zoo’s lion enclosure around 2:15 p.m. local time Thursday, when a male Asiatic lion named Dungarpur was on display, zoo officials said in a press release obtained by PEOPLE.
While a zookeeper at the Tirupati city site was “on a routine inspection”, they spotted the Gurjar – who was from Rajasthan’s Alwar district – on the other side of the enclosure moving towards the animal’s location.
Despite being warned by the employee, Gurjar still “climbed the wall and chain link fence” before “deliberately” jumping into the enclosure.
“After seeing a human being in the enclosure, the animal attacked,” the statement said. “Although the animal keeper and other security personnel nearby tried to rescue the person, the animal dragged him into the enclosure.”
Tirupati Venkateshwara Zoo.
Getty
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The Times of India and Hindustan Times, citing the Press Trust of India (PTI), both reported that the man wanted to pose for a selfie with a lion. The times he noted that police said the man appeared drunk.
“Though the guard on duty warned him not to go near the enclosure, Prahlad deliberately walked towards the enclosure, which had a four-foot wall and a six-foot iron fence, and jumped into it,” zoo curator C Selvam told the outlet. “We have taken the utmost precautions to prevent such incidents. We will once again review security measures to prevent such incidents in the future.”
After the man was attacked, zoo staff reported the incident to the MRPalli police station and called an ambulance, the statement said. Staff then “locked the animal in a night kennel” before finding Gurjar’s body, wallet and Aadhaar ID card.
Dog survives mountain lion attack in backyard in California — Watch!
According to times, the zoo said Gurjar may have died of excessive bleeding. The media also reported that the lion mauled the man to death within 10 minutes.
times reporter Sudhakar Udumula shared footage and pictures of the lion and the aftermath of the scene at X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, which showed the big cat sitting in a cage as officers inspected the enclosure.
The man’s relatives were informed of his death, and his body was transported to the SVRR Government General Hospital for an “autopsy”, according to the press release.
In the meantime, the police launched an investigation.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education