Man mauled by lions after jumping into zoo enclosure following row with wife

Stock photo, PA

A man received "multiple injuries" after jumping into a lion's enclosure at a zoo in India following a row with his wife.

A pair of lions pounced on the man immediately when he landed in their enclosure at the Nandankanan Zoological Park on Friday.

Zoo assistant director K L Purohit said told the Indian Express: "The man indentified as Suryanarayan Das (45) from Chhatrapur in Ganjam district all of a sudden climbed on the wall and jumped into the lion enclosure (29-D) housing Cris (male lion) and Priyanka. We rescued Das within five minutes and rushed him to a hospital."

Mr Purohit said the lioness attacked the man as soon as he landed in the den. But the lions retreated into their cages when other visitors started shouting at them.

He added that the incident took place at around 1.10pm, when the security guards had gone for lunch.

Dr Srikant Mohapatra, the general manager of the private hospital Das was taken to, said he sustained multiple injuries on his skull, cheeks, neck, legs and hands.

Describing his condition now as stable, Dr Mohapatra said: "Das regained consciousness in the hospital. He has sustained deep bites on hands and legs. Das also admitted having a quarrel with his wife before coming to the zoo."

Related articles

Man mauled by tiger after jumping into den at New York zoo

Tiger escapes German zoo and kills woman

Pack of wolves maul zoo worker to death in Sweden

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-152910%