Zookeeper mauled to death by lions in front of visitors at Thailand safari park
Global News
The fatal attack took place when an employee stepped out of his vehicle.
A longtime zookeeper in Thailand was mauled to death by a pack of lions in front of tourists at Safari World Bangkok.
The fatal attack took place on Sept. 10 at about 11 a.m. local time when an employee stepped out of his vehicle. He was mauled for about 15 minutes, according to Thai News Agency.
Sadudee Punpugdee, wildlife protection director of the Department of National Parks, told AFP that the employee, identified as Jian Rangkarassamee, 58, was “a zoo staff member who usually fed the lions.”
Punpugdee added that the staff member was “mauled by six or seven of the big cats when he stepped out of his car.”
An autopsy found that Rangkarassamee suffered multiple deep lacerations, a broken neck and ruptured arteries.
The zoo has now temporarily closed its predator zone, where the lions were kept, and the lions have been confined to cages for close monitoring, according to CBS News. The zoo has also closed off its big cat section until repairs and improvements are completed.
The Department of National Parks’ (DNP) wildlife conservation director, Chalerm Poommai, shared inspection results with AFP on Friday, revealing that there were damaged fences, inadequate warning signs and not enough CCTV cameras on-site.
Poommai also revealed that the zoo’s permit expired last October and is still awaiting renewal.
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Footage of the incident, shared on social media, shows the man shimmying down a tree into the lion enclosure.
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