Man enters lion’s enclosure in Delhi zoo, rescued

A video that has gone viral showed the man sitting, squatting and then tumbling in front of the lion that stood calmly for nearly a minute before appearing to climb up on him.

A 21-year-old man climbed into a lion enclosure in the Delhi zoo on Thursday afternoon, and spent several moments sitting very close to the lion before being rescued by zoo authorities, police said.

Photo: Screengrab

A video that has gone viral showed the man sitting, squatting and then tumbling in front of the lion that stood calmly for nearly a minute before appearing to climb up on him.

Chinmoy Biswal, deputy commissioner of police (south-east), said that the man was rescued by the zoo officials before the lion could harm him. “The man belongs to Seelampur in north-east Delhi and is mentally disturbed. We have sent him to a hospital for medical examination. He is unhurt,” said the DCP.

Watch: Man enters lion’s enclosure in Delhi zoo, rescued safely

The DCP said that the man gained entry into the enclosure by scaling the iron grill that serves as a fence around the enclosure.

The incident brought back memories of the September 2014 incident when a 22-year-old man was killed by a white tiger at the Delhi zoo after he fell into the big cat’s enclosure.

The deceased was identified as Maqsood, a factory worker and resident of central Delhi’s Anand Parbat. His parents had said that the 19-year-old was mentally ill and addicted to bhang.

Just last month, on September 5, a 30-year-old man had allegedly attempted suicide by trying to enter the enclosure of an Indian lion in the same zoo. He was rescued in the nick of time.