Man jumps into lion enclosure at Kerala zoo

Visitors to the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo were in for a bizarre distraction on Wednesday after a man jumped into an enclosure that houses a lioness. A guard who saw him raised an alarm and with the help of other guards, the man was dragged out of the enclosure. His family said he was mentally unwell.

Murukan (35), a native of Ottappalam in Palakkad district, is reported to have climbed a fence built around a safety trench that separates the open enclosure from the visitors and crawled toward Gracy, a three-year-old lioness born and raised at the zoo. In video footage of the incident, shot on cell-phone by one of the visitors, Murukan is seen heading towards the lioness before he's intercepted by a guard. The guards diverted the animal's attention and dragged Murukan out to safety. Police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel arrived at the zoo following an alert. Murukan was handed over to the police.

The incident happened at about 11.15 am. One of the guards spotted him soon after he entered the lion enclosure and with other guards also joining in, we could bring him out soon," T V Anilkumar, Superintendent of the zoo, told DH. Murukan suffered a leg injury in the jump and is undergoing treatment at the General Hospital here. His family said he was missing since February 18. Murukan's brother A Narayanan told DH that he was mentally unwell and under medication. "He left home on Sunday without telling anyone in the family," he said.