‘Drunk’ zoo visitor mauled by lion after leaping into enclosure in India

Victim taken to hospital in Kolkata after sustaining wounds to shoulder and neck

(Getty/iStock)

A 40-year-old man has been taken to hospital with severe injuries after being mauled by a lion at a city zoo in Kolkata, India, according to local media.

The victim, identified locally as Gautam Guchhait, was “dressed like a sadhu” (a Hindu holy man) when he reportedly leapt into the animal’s enclosure at the Alipore Zoological Gardens, a popular tourist attraction, at approximately 11am on Friday morning.

Zoo staff came to his rescue after the alarm was raised by other visitors and said afterwards they believed Mr Guchhait had been drunk at the time, according to NDTV.

He suffered bites to his shoulder and neck before being hauled free and taken to the West Bengal city’s SSKM Hospital for emergency care.

The cage was home to an endangered Asiatic lion, native to the Gir Forest in the Junagadh district of Gujarat.

Mr Guchhait, from East Medinipur, had “somehow managed to climb the boundary wall before jumping over the two netted-boundaries to get inside the enclosure” where he was attacked, one zookeeper told the PTI news agency.

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A policeman called to the scene told the same outlet that security footage of the incident was being reviewed to find out precisely what happened.

The episode has “raised serious questions” about security lapses at the Alipore zoo, according to ABP Live, as it follows just three days after three exotic birds were reportedly stolen from an enclosure close by.

While Mr Guchhait was undoubtedly lucky to escape with his life, such incidents are not as uncommon in India as might be expected.

One man was mauled to death by a tigress at Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park in Ranchi, Jharkhand, on 4 March 2020 and another was killed by two lions at Chhatbir Zoo in Mohali, Punjab, on 19 January 2019, the latter having similarly scaled a 25-foot wall to enter their cage.

Another man was rescued after jumping into a lion’s enclosure at Thiruvananthapuram Zoo in Kerala on 21 February 2018, as was a fourth at Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad on 23 May 2016.

The last was likewise said to be intoxicated at the time and was subsequently sentenced to four months’ imprisonment.