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Man mauled to death by lions at East London zoo

Visitors look at a lion, donated by South Africa, in an enclosure at Abidjan Zoo. Picture Credit: AFP
Visitors look at a lion, donated by South Africa, in an enclosure at Abidjan Zoo. Picture Credit: AFP

A man was mauled to death by lions after he allegedly jumped into the animals’ enclosure at the East London zoo on Tuesday.

Buffalo City Metro spokesman Thandy Matebese said the man had paid the entrance fee and gained access to the lion’s den in the morning.

“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.”

The zoo was teeming with police detectives and other emergency personnel after the incident that rocked the East London zoo.

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