Zookeeper is attacked and killed by a hippo after entering its new enclosure to clean it out in India
- The 40-year-old employee of the Lucknow Zoo in Uttar Pradesh died on the spot
A zookeeper was attacked and killed by a hippo today after entering his new home in India.
Suraj, a 40-year-old employee of the Lucknow Zoo in Uttar Pradesh, had entered the enclosure to clean it when he was attacked. Suraj died on the spot.
Another employee Raju managed to escape from the cage. He was injured and admitted to hospital but is in stable condition, reports the Indian Express.
The hippo had been shifted to the Lucknow Zoo from Kanpur a few weeks ago.
Zoo director Aditi Sharma said an investigation is being conducted and added that all staff are being instructed to confine the animal to a part of the cage before entering it, the release said.
A hippopotamus at the Lucknow Zoo. 40-year-old zoo employee Suraj had entered the enclosure to clean it when he was attacked. Suraj died on the spot (archive photo)
The Lucknow Zoo in Uttar Pradesh. The hippopotamus was brought to the zoo from Kanpur a few weeks ago
βIt would be part of the investigation to find out why the animal was not confined in any part of the cage when the two employees entered,β Sharma said.
Suraj worked at the zoo for the past twelve years and is survived by his wife, daughter and son.
Angry zoo officials gathered at the civil hospital where the body of the deceased was taken and Raju has been admitted, the Meghalayan reported.
In September, an angry hippo began attacking the zoo keeper after he tried to break up his fight with another territorial bull in their enclosure.
Heartbreaking footage showed the man – who had entered the enclosure to feed the animal – clambering out of the cage in a desperate bid to prevent a fatal attack at the Changsha Ecological Zoo in China's Hunan province.
Amid the rush to run for his life, the zoo keeper slipped across the wet concrete entrance with the hippo ready to launch a devastating attack.
As the enraged hippo bared its enormous teeth in a menacing display, the man used his arms and feet to prevent the hungry animal from approaching him.
The horrifying moment a hippopotamus bared its enormous teeth as it approached the zoo keeper at the Changsha Ecological Zoo in China's Hunan province in September
The video showed the man trying to climb out of the cage, but he slipped and the hippo approached him
The hippo briefly left its caretaker alone as it continued to eat greenery, but when the man got back up, it charged at him again just as he left the enclosure. This time he was able to get to safety.
It is understood the zoo keeper had entered the enclosure to feed the animal before two hippos began attacking each other.
Footage showed the territorial bulls attacking each other before the zoo keeper flew out of the pen.
The zoo keeper had tried to break up the fight by distracting one of the hippos, but was sent fleeing when they turned their anger on him.
Amazingly, the zookeeper escaped unharmed after the horror clash on September 24.