A zookeeper filmed his final moments before being attacked and consumed by a pack of lions.
The man was attempting to capture three escaped animals in a courtyard at a private zoo called the Lion Park in Parkent, Uzbekistan, early in the morning. His intention was to impress his girlfriend, but the lions turned aggressive, leading to the fatal attack.
The zookeeper, identified as F. Iriskulov, 44, documented himself unlocking a padlock at the Lion Park during his night shift in 2024. The lions appeared calm at first but suddenly became agitated as he approached them, calling out to one of them, named “Simba.”
As tension rose, one of the lions bit the man’s arm, causing him distress. The camera captured the chaotic scene before the feed cut off abruptly.
When other zoo employees arrived the following morning, they discovered Iriskulov’s remains in the lions’ enclosure, with two lions tranquilized and one shot dead. The zoo confirmed the tragic outcome: “The lions killed him and partially consumed his body.”
In a separate incident, another zookeeper was fatally attacked by lions in front of horrified tourists at Safari World in Bangkok, Thailand. Witnesses recounted how the lions launched a sudden assault on the keeper as he exited his vehicle in an open enclosure.
Eyewitnesses described the brutal attack, with the lions overpowering the keeper while onlookers honked car horns in a desperate attempt to intervene. Despite zoo officials arriving with firearms to disperse the lions, the keeper had already succumbed to his injuries.
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