Man found mauled to death in zoo enclosure after staff spotted big cat with shoe in its mouth
A man was found mauled to death inside an enclosure at a Pakistan zoo after cleaning workers came across a big cat with a shoe in its mouth.
The grisly discovery was made at Bahawalpur’s Sherbagh Zoo in Punjab Province Wednesday.
“When they cleaned the zoo and the dens, they found the [animal] holding a shoe in its mouth,” Zaheer Anwar, a senior local government official, told the media.
“The staff got suspicious and then they found a body inside the den,” he added.
It is unclear what kind of big cat it was because Anwar used a word that can mean a tiger or a leopard, both of which are believed to be housed at the zoo, although some local media outlets reported that it was a tiger.
The victim of the attack has not been identified, and it is unclear how he ended up in the animal enclosure.
“Our assessment so far is that this appears to be a lunatic, because a sensible person would not jump into the den,” Anwar said. “You can see that the den is secured. There are stairs behind the den, maybe he jumped from there.”
Zafarullah, an official of the rescue organization 1122 in Bahawalpur, who goes by one name, said that the victim’s legs had been badly gnawed on and his body looked to be “several hours old.”
“It is yet not known who he is and how he got there. It is being investigated,” said Zafarullah.
Forensic experts were examining the body to determine the exact cause of death.
A preliminary autopsy report done at the Bahawal Victoria Hospital revealed that the victim was ripped apart by the big cats, reported the Pakistani news channel Geo.tv. It also stated that the man tried to defend himself but was overpowered by the animals.
The zoo is operated by Punjab’s wildlife department and houses, among other animals, lions, tigers and hyenas in “modern moated enclosures,” according to its website. The adult entry fee at the zoo is just 18 cents.
The local government in Bahawalpur has formed a committee to investigate the deadly animal attack and submit a detailed report within a week, according to Geo.tv.
The zoo has been closed to visitors pending the outcome of the probe.
