Man enters lion enclosure for selfie at SV Zoo in Tirupati, gets mauled to death

Tirupati: A man was killed by a lion at the Sri Venkateshwara Zoological Park in Tirupati when he entered the lion’s enclosure and tried to take a selfie with the animal. The man, identified as Prahlad Gurjar, was a resident of Rajasthan.

According to preliminary information, on Thursday, the man, who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, entered the lion’s enclosure which is not open to the general public ignoring a caretaker's warnings to back off, to take a selfie. The victim climbed a fence that is over 25 feet tall and jumped into the enclosure.

After the lion roared loudly, he attempted to escape by climbing a tree. However, he slipped and fell and the ferocious animal attacked and killed him. It reportedly ate his head.

The man is said to have behaved in a way to provoke the lion. The animal was immediately locked up in the closed enclosure.

On receiving the information, the police and the forest department officials reached the spot and started an investigation into the matter. The zoo has been temporarily closed, restricting visitors entry.

The Tirupati Police has registered a case and a post-mortem is being conducted. While there were speculations that the victim was either mentally unstable or in an inebriated condition, a confirmation will be given only after conducting a post-mortem.

The zoo has three lions – Dongalpur, Kumarand and Sundari. Dongalpur has now been moved to a cage and will be kept under observation.