Narrow escape from lion’s den

Zoo staff manage to rescue mentally deranged man

A man who entered a lion enclosure at the city zoo on Wednesday morning lived to tell the tale of his escape.

The man, identified as Murugan from Palappuram weaver’s colony in Ottappalam, was rescued by a team of nearly 10 zookeepers, led by their supervisor, within minutes.

CCTV visuals reveal that Murugan entered the enclosure of Gracy, a two-and-a-half-year-old lioness, at 11.09 a.m. An alarm was raised by onlookers , and security staff immediately informed zoo authorities on the wireless.

As it was time to feed the animals, the zookeepers were all in the vicinity. They rushed to the enclosure, entered it through the animal house, swooped in on Murugan, and lifted him physically despite the resistance he put up to bring him out safely by 11.14 a.m.

Though Murugan was directly in the line of vision of Gracy, the lioness thankfully stayed put. Says zoo veterinarian Jacob Alexander, "He was lucky that she is not very aggressive. She had been hand-fed milk by us for first three months after her birth, but no one has entered her enclosure since her immunisations were completed."

Zoo Superintendent T.V. Anil Kumar said Murugan is believed to have entered the enclosure, which is ringed by a dry moat, through a path used by the zookeepers to access the animal house and then jumped into the enclosure. "Even after going in, he was heading toward the lioness on all fours."

Zoo supervisor Radhakrishnan Nair says it was at great risk to their lives that they entered the lion enclosure. "Thankfully it was a few minutes after 11 a.m. and we were all nearby and could rescue the man swiftly." Murugan, it is learnt, had reportedly been suffering from mental ailments and missing for some days. Zoo authorities said they had received a call claiming that Murugan had visited the Thiruvilwamala temple and gone missing from there.

The Museum police and the Fire and Rescue Services also reached the zoo. Murugan was handed over to the police, and admitted to General Hospital here. He is under sedation, hospital sources said.

Except for the supervisor and one permanent keeper, the rest who risked their lives are those who work on daily wages. These keepers are awaiting a decision on their long-pending demand for a permanent posting. Two keepers sustained minor injuries as Murugan put up resistance while being physically lifted from the enclosure.