A 20-year-old man was severely mauled by two lions after he broke into their cage in Santiago zoo in Chile on Saturday, 21 May. He barely escaped with his life after the lions were shot dead. The man who has been identified as Franco Luis Ferrada Roman was rescued and rushed to the hospital, but tragically, the zookeepers had to shot dead the two lions to salvage the unfortunate incident.

The man was a visitor to the park who trespassed into an area of the zoo where the public is not normally allowed. He forced open the roof of the lion’s enclosure before he jumped in, took off his clothes and taunted the lions into attacking him.

The incident took place during peak visiting hours and there were several witnesses, including children, who were traumatised by the incident.

Director of the zoo, Alejandra Montalba said, “The alarms sounded and chemical control arrived (tranquilizer darts) and an independent shooter arrived. The shooter decided to save the life of the person and unfortunately we had to sacrifice two members of our family.”

One witness, Cynthia Vasquez, said that the security personnel was slow to react. According to her, they jumped into action only after “he entered the enclosure from above and the lions started to play with him and then after they attacked him.” She even criticised their approach, saying, “First they threw water, evacuated the people and only later did they fire shots.”

According to eye-witnesses, Ferrada was “screaming religious things” — particularly about Jesus. A suicide note found in his clothes mentioned an apocalypse as the reason for attempting to end his life.

Ferrada Roman suffered several injuries and trauma to the head and the pelvic regions, according to doctors. His heart almost stopped, but he is no longer in a life-threatening condition.

Well, Ferrada Roman’s dramatic attempt at suicide was a colossal failure and resulted in the loss of two innocent lions, a male, and a female. Dozens of people held a night vigil on Saturday night for the two dead lions.