Chilean man jumps into den of lions, gets mauled
Lions at Zimbabwe National Park on October 21, 2012. A man was mauled by lions in a Chilean zoo. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- Police said he would be taken to court after he recovered. It is the first such incident at the zoo.
SANTIAGO
A zoo in Chile’s capital said it was forced to kill two lions on Saturday to protect a suicidal man who had entered their cage in front of bewildered visitors.
Security protocol kicked in immediately when employees saw the man climb down with a rope into the African lions’ enclosure, the head of Santiago Zoo, Alejandra Montalva, told television network TVN.
The carnivorous felines, a male and a female, instinctively attacked the intruder and had to be put down.
Anesthetic darts would not have stopped the attack in time, she told journalists.
“We’re shaken by this because the animals in the zoo are part of our family,” Montalva said.
“These were lions that had been with us for more than 20 years.” The man, in his 20s or 30s, was taken to a hospital with critical injuries.
Police said he would be taken to court after he recovered. It is the first such incident at the zoo.
