Man mauled to death by lions at zoo near Chandigarh

A man was mauled to death by lions on Sunday at Chhatbir Zoo in Zirakpur, around 20 km from Chandigarh.

According to zoo officials, the man entered the enclosure by scaling an over-25-feet wall and as soon as he crossed over, he was attacked by two lions.

Officials said the incident happened at 2.20 pm and the man, who is in his early 30s, was yet to be identified.

"The injury on his neck was deep. He was taken to civil hospital in a critical condition where he died," said the zoo's field director M Sudhagarb.

A lion and a lioness were in the enclosure, he said, adding the female lion attacked the man first.

The official said the man might have entered the zoo through the Ghaggar bandh area, which was also known as the jungle area.

"He then scaled the wall and must have fallen inside the enclosure," Sudhgarb said. He claimed that the man was not a visitor.

"We suspect that he was drunk as it is impossible for a normal person to scale the boundary wall, which is so high," the official said.

He said a quick response team promptly removed the animals from the site and rescued the man.