There are two types of people in the world: ones who seek adventure in life and the ones who don’t. In the first category also, there are two types: the smart adventurers and the stupid ones. Thankfully, there is no dearth of stupid adventurers in the world, and definitely not in our country.
Remember the guy who skydived shirtless and without a parachute? Or if you look closer to home, the Kashmiri youth’s dangerous train stunt? Well, here’s adding another to the list.
Murugan, a Kerala man jumped into a lioness’ enclosure in a Thiruvananthapuram zoo. He climbed over the cordoned area and started provoking the two-year-old lioness, Gracy.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the incident took place at around 11:15. Murugan, who is a native of Ottappalam in Palakkad district, jumped over the fence and started inching closer to the wild animal.
Onlookers were quick to notice him and started screaming for him to come back. A team of zoo guards rushed to the scene and dragged him back while the lioness was distracted.
Man jumps into lion's enclosure at #Thiruvananthapuram zoo. He was rescued by zoo keepers. @nav_journo pic.twitter.com/iEA16NmOWm
— The Lede (@thelede_in) February 21, 2018
He was successfully rescued by the team and handed over to the police. Jail Superintendent Anil Kumar said,
“Thankfully, the lioness didn’t attack him and our guards managed to lock her inside. We then dragged the man out. He wasn’t saying anything, so we handed him over to the police.”
Murugan had been reported missing by his family since February 18th. It is not clear yet whether he suffers from a mental illness. It also seems like he injured his leg when he jumped over the fence, which is why the guards had to drag him out.
He was lucky he got out of it alive. Anil Kumar further said,
“If it was a male lion, it would have attacked him.”
If he is mentally ill, then maybe he needs better care and treatment. But if this was just an act of stupidity, then can we really blame the animals for being their wild selves with us?