A man was mauled to death by an Asiatic lion after he willingly jumped into its enclosure.
The incident occurred in southern India, where 38-year-old Prahlad Gujjar scaled a 12-foot high fence and jumped into the animal's enclosure at Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati on Thursday 15 February, according to zoo officials.
Gujjar, originally from the district of Alwar in Rajasthan, reportedly willingly jumped into the enclosure with the intention to take a selfie with the lion.
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He was believed to be intoxicated, according to local media reports.
Tirupati police officer Mallika Garg stated that a security guard raised an alarm when they spotted that he was scaling the fence, and ran towards him.
However, the man managed to jump into the water tank inside the enclosure, evading any attempts to stop him.
“When he saw the security guard running towards him, Gujjar jumped on to a water tank and climbed over the 12-foot-high fence surrounding the enclosure, which has a lion and two lionesses,” the officer explained.
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“He jumped and fell in front of the lions, which mauled him. He died on the spot."
The predators stood nearby the remains of Gajjar until caretakers guided them into the feeding cages, and the remains of the man's mauled body were retrieved and moved out of the enclosure.
Police officers went through the belongings of the man after the body was removed, and found a ticket from Hyderabad to Tirupati for 13 February and what appeared to be a drive.
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They suspected that the man may have had some mental health issues, as Officer Garg revealed that they were trying to locate and get in contact with his family so they could find out more about why he would do such a thing.
“Whether he was inebriated or not, we will know from the post-mortem report,” he stated.
The lion who attacked him has been moved out of the original enclosure that is seen by the public, and relocated to a cage where he will be watched closely by zoo staff.
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This is not the first incident of a lion mauling a trespassing individual in India in the past 10 years or so.
In 2014, a white tiger brutally killed a man who entered its enclosure in Delhi zoo, with the video going viral, but the 20-year-old deceased man was widely believed to be suffering with mental health issues beforehand.
Featured Image Credit: X/@sudhakarudumulaTopics: Animals, News, World News