A 38-year-old man, Prahlad Gujjar, died when he was mauled by a lion after entering his enclosure at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati, in Andhra Pradesh, southern India. Gujjar, originally from the Alwar district in Rajasthan, apparently crossed a 4-metre high fence to take a selfie with the lion, presumably in a state of intoxication.
Despite the alarm raised by a security guard, the man managed to enter the enclosure, falling in front of the lions who attacked him, causing his immediate death.
The police, after having found a bus ticket attesting to the man’s journey from Hyderabad to Tirupati on February 13, are working to ascertain the presence of mental disorders. The autopsy analysis will also clarify whether he was intoxicated at the time of the accident. This tragic event recalls a similar case that occurred in 2014 at the Delhi Zoo, where a white tiger killed a visitor.