Watch: Drunken man leaps into lion enclosure in Hyderabad Zoo but escapes with his life
The zoo has been criticised for lax security, while the man has been arrested.
A few days ago, zookeepers at a Santiago zoo in Chile were forced to shoot the lions in the enclosure because a man jumped in to end his own life.
Now, a similar incident has taken place in India (video above). At the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad, a man leaped into a lion enclosure. Why? Because he was drunk and wanted to "shake hands" with the animals. Thankfully, the animal keeper was present nearby and he was able to distract the lions by throwing stones and the man was safely able to escape the enclosure.
What a picture! The drunk man in Hyderabad zoo, arguing with the lions. Via @Iamtssudhir pic.twitter.com/yLEyQoTOzW
— Vasu (@vasudevan_k) May 23, 2016
Man sent to prison for trying to shake hands with lion - https://t.co/sh3eRQUhub#lion #zoo #Hyderabad pic.twitter.com/Yc8UcoDM46
— We For News (@WeForNews) May 24, 2016
The police arrested the man behind the incident, Mukesh Kumar, 35 and booked him under the Indian Penal Code and the Wildlife Protection Act. He has been sent to jail by a local court.
The zoo has been criticised for its lax security – there have been numerous similar incidents. Earlier this year, a 16-year-old boy fell to his death after he climbed some rocks on top of a waterfall in a bid to get a selfie. In another incident, a sloth bear escaped from the zoo into the nearby vicinity before zoo officials brought him. In 2015, a tiger jumped over an enclosure in the zoo.