Horrified tourists watched as a pack of lions ate a zookeeper alive in Thailand this morning.
The beasts pounced on the worker when he stepped out of his jeep in the open enclosure at Safari World in Bangkok at around 11 am local time.
Shocked visitors screamed as the predators pinned down their victim and feasted on human flesh.
Onlookers, including a number of zoo workers, could only sound their horns in a futile attempt to scare away the sub-Saharan big cats.
Officials arrived with guns, which caused the lions to scatter, but the zookeeper was already mauled to death as the lions gnawed his body until the bones were exposed.
Zoo staff eventually drove the lions away and closed the drive-through area, where a puddle of blood could be seen on the ground.
Eye-witness Professor Tavatchai Kanchanarin, a doctor at a leading hospital who was visiting at the time, said: ‘A man got off an uncovered car and stood alone with his back turned to the animals, which I thought was weird.
‘He stood for about three minutes, then a lion walked slowly and grabbed him from the back. He did not scream,’ he told local media Thairath television.
The professor added: ‘It was about 10 metres away, then slowly approached and grabbed the zookeeper from behind, dragging him to the ground and biting him.
‘Three or four other lions then joined in with biting the zookeeper.
‘Many people witnessed the incident but didn’t know how to help. They honked their own car horns and shouted for help.
‘At first, I assumed it was familiar to the zookeepers, as the person who was bitten might have been a lion keeper. I thought the lions were trying to hug him, so no one went near that area.’
Tavatchai said the attack continued for around 15 minutes before zoo staff were able to reach the victim. He was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
‘The deceased is a zoo staff member who usually fed the lions,’ Sadudee Punpugdee, wildlife protection director of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation confirmed to local media.
He said the keeper was apparently mauled by six or seven of the big cats when he stepped out of his car.
Edwin Wiek from conservation group Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand wrote in a statement posted to Facebook: ‘We would like to express our sincere condolences to the deceased animal keeper.’
‘This incident should serve as a stark reminder that these animals, even when raised by humans from birth, still pose a serious threat to human life that can be triggered without warning.’
A senior zoo official, whose name was withheld, told local media that all of the park’s lions were licensed.
‘We have rules and we repeat them often as we work with dangerous animals,’ he said.
The victim, who had worked as a zoo supervisor for more than thirty years, was ‘a kind man,’ he added.
Safari World’s website says ‘visitors can get up close and personal with wild animals such as tigers, lions, bears and zebras wandering freely in their natural habitats.’
Lion ownership is legal in Thailand, where the captive lion population has exploded in recent years, with nearly 500 registered in zoos, breeding farms, petting cafes and homes.
‘Safari World must relocate the lions, who have done nothing wrong other than exhibit their natural behaviours, to a sanctuary,’ said animal rights NGO People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in a statement Wednesday.
Owners at the Bangkok World Safari Park have yet to comment on the incident
The park is best known for its orangutan that hugs and gropes female visitors as they pose for pictures.
However, the attraction has attracted criticism from animal rights groups such as PETA, who claim the ape is subject to poor treatment while being ‘humiliated and exploited’.
It comes after a zookeeper was mauled to death by a rare female white Bengal tiger when he mistakenly entered the big cat’s cage during its feeding time in April.
Alexey Melnikov died instantly at Mariupol Zoo in Russian-occupied Ukraine after the tigress – named Lucy – ‘attacked him and gnawed his head’.
Fellow zoo employee, Galina Zamarakhina, who narrowly escaped the beast, witnessed the horrific attack.
She explained that Alexey was under the impression that he had moved the tigress to another cage before entering the enclosure.
But it appears he had in fact not moved the big cat, and was shocked to encounter Lucy lurking in a wooden den when he entered the cage.
‘I heard a scream,’ Galina recalled.
‘I somehow managed to close the cage in time, because she [the tigress] was looking at me.
‘I don’t know how I managed to shut it’, she added.