A man who jumped into a lion's enclosure was mauled to death at Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati on Thursday. The victim was identified as Prahlad Gujjar (34), hailing from Bansur in Rajasthan's Alwar district.
On Thursday, Gujjar entered the buffer zone surrounding an enclosure of a lion and two lionesses at the zoo. Despite alarms raised by security personnel, he proceeded to scale a 12-foot wall accessing the secluded zone. Subsequently, he entered the enclosure through a gate designated only for caretakers, as per a report on IANS.
"Though our animal keeper noticed and cautioned Gujjar from entering the restricted area, he scaled the six-foot-high fence and jumped into the lions' enclosure," Tirupati Zoo curator C Selvam told PTI.
Upon reaching the closure, the lion immediately attacked Gujjar who sustained fatal injuries as the animal seized him by the neck and dragged him approximately 100 meters, resulting in his demise on the spot.
However, the lion did not eat any part of his body.
Following the incident, caretakers successfully lured the lions into feeding cages. Later, they retrieved the body of Gujjar. Based on the information, the police arrived at the scene and sent the body for autopsy.
Selvam stated that the zoo authorities told the police to take over the case due to the human fatality.
Tirupati SP Mallika Garg confirmed Gujjar's identity through an Aadhaar card found in his possession. Additionally, a bus ticket indicated his arrival from Hyderabad to Tirupati on February 13, traveling alone with a single ticket purchased for zoo entry.
The police said that they are trying to locate Gujjar's family to ascertain whether he may have had underlying mental health concerns. Furthermore, the possibility of Gujjar being under the influence of alcohol or substances remains under investigation.
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