Man mauled to death by lions at East London Zoo

lioness

A man has been mauled to death by lions after reportedly jumping into their enclosure at the East London Zoo in Johannesburg, South Africa.

According to Buffalo City Metro spokeswoman Thandy Matebese, the man paid the entrance fee before wandering over to the lion’s den on Tuesday morning.

She told the Sowetan Live: “According to the CCTV footage‚ the man entered the zoo this morning at around 9am. He paid the entrance fee and proceeded into the zoo premises. He was alone and did not display any signs of being emotional or distressed‚” said Matebese.

“We suspect that he used the corner of the security wall and the fence of the lion’s enclosure to climb up and jumped over the fence. His corpse was discovered around 10am when it was time to feed the lions.”

Times Live reports that police and a host of emergency personnel attended the scene following the incident.

The East London Zoo is found in the Queens Park Zoological Gardens in Johannesburg.

It’s described on its website as being “home to a wide range of animals, birds and reptiles.”

It adds: “You can expect to see tigers, white lions, brown lions, a hyena, a jaguar, giraffe, springbok, chimpanzees, chacma baboons, other small monkeys and much more.

“Ducks, finches, parrots, emus and ostriches can be spotted as well as a range of lizards, anacondas, a crocodile and a leopard tortoise.”

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