Man jumps into lion enclosure at Tirupati zoo, mauled to death

A 38-year-old man from Rajasthan was mauled to death by an eight-year-old male Asiatic lion in Sri Venkateswara Zoo here on Thursday, said a Forest department official.

Around 4 pm, Prahlad Gujjar from Alwar district in Rajasthan came as a lone visitor and entered the restricted area, said the official.

“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.

The male lion which was on display at that time in the enclosure mauled him to death, he said.

The lion did not eat any part of his body, which was found intact with neck injuries where the animal bit



him, the official added.

Selvam said the zoo staff tried to save him but could not do so.

Following the attack, the lion was locked in the night house and police arrived for further investigation.

The curator noted that the zoo staff found Gujjar’s purse while searching the enclosure which contained an Aadhaar card and other identity cards, following which they contacted the deceased person’s family.

However, he said that no mobile phone had been recovered from the enclosure yet.

Selvam said the zoo authorities informed the police to take over the case as it involved a human death.

Following the complaint, police registered a case while the body would sent for a post-mortem.