Attempting to click a selfie with a lion has led to a man being mauled to death at the Tirupati zoo on Thursday.
Authorities at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, said the man, identified as 38-year-old Prahlad Gujjar from Alwar in Rajasthan, entered the enclosure and attempted to take a photo with the lion, as reported by NDTV.
Gujjar Acted in a Way to Provoke the Lion
He entered an area which is not open to the public and, ignoring a caretaker's warnings to back off, climbed a fence that is over 25 feet tall and jumped into the enclosure. Gujjar also behaved in a way to provoke the lion.
As the animal attacked the Gujjar, he climbed a tree in a bid to save himself but the lion, named Dongalpur, mauled him to death before the caretaker could act.
A police case has been registered and a post-mortem is being conducted, which will also establish whether Gujjar was in an inebriated state when he entered the enclosure. Gujjar was visiting the zoo alone and authorities are trying to get in touch with his family, said an official.
Lion Did Not Eat Any of Gujjar's Body Parts
"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 a local news outlet. 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.
The zoo has three lions - Kumar, Sundari and Dongalpur - and the last of them was on display on Thursday. Dongalpur has now been moved to a cage and will be kept under observation.
