Hyderabad:
An attempt to take a selfie with a lion led to a man being mauled to death at Tirupati zoo on Thursday.
Authorities at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park said the man, identified as 38-year-old Prahlad Gujjar from Alwar in Rajasthan, entered the enclosure and tried to take a photo with the lion. He entered an area not open to the public, ignored a caretaker's warnings to retreat, climbed over a fence more than 25 feet high and jumped into the enclosure.
The lion, named Dongalpur, mauled Gujjar to death before the caretaker could act. A police case has been registered and an autopsy is being conducted, which will also reveal whether Gujjar was in an inebriated state when he entered the locked room. Gujjar visited the zoo alone and authorities are trying to contact his family, an official said.
The zoo has three lions – Kumar, Sundari and Dongalpur – and the last of them was on display on Thursday. Dongalpur has now been moved to a cage and will be kept under observation.