Man mauled to death by a pair of lions in Punjab zoo

A man in his mid-twenties was mauled by lions inside the Chhatbir Zoo in Punjab’s Zirakhpur, some 22-km from the capital city Chandigarh.

The man is suspected to be mentally unstable or a drug addict. He climbed over a 25-foot wall from the rear of the Lion Safari, then climbed another 5-foot chain-link mesh barricade to jump inside the Lion safari area.

He was first noticed by a lioness, Shilpa, who had been relocated from a Hyderabad zoo in 2015. As the lioness attacked the man, a lion named Yuvraj also attacked the trespasser.

The pair of lions targeted the neck of the man, making it difficult for him to breathe. He was left badly injured and later was declared brought dead by doctors at the nearby civil hospital. In fact, there was eyewitness account of the tragedy.

The lion safari bus was taking visitors on a guided tour inside the jungle area where the big cats are kept. The driver and others panicked on seeking the man being attacked. An alert was sounded. The driver moved the vehicle carrying visitors out of the Safari area. The pair attacked the man for about 5-6 minutes. Zoo field director M Sudhagarh said the man was not a visitor. The zoo lion safari area has been shut down for two days pending the probe into the incident.