Zookeeper is mauled to death by a lion that turned on him when he tried to lure him to his cave with food in Japan
- Kenichi Kato, a Tohoku Safari Park employee, was found unconscious in a lion cage
A zookeeper at a Japanese safari park was mauled to death by a lion after the predator attacked him when he tried to lure him to his cave with food, police said today.
Kenichi Kato, a 53-year-old worker at the Tohoku Safari Park in the Fukushima region, was found bleeding from the neck and unconscious in the lion’s cage on Thursday afternoon, a local police spokesman told AFP.
“It is believed he was feeding a lion,” the spokesman said.
A senior park official previously said Kato tried to lure a lion into a cage using food, but failed to lock the door that should have separated him from the big cat.
“The process is we open the door and place the food. Once the food is placed, the door should be closed and locked,” Norichika Kumakubo, vice president of the park, told local reporters on Thursday evening.
But “the door was open at the time,” he said.
A zookeeper at a Japanese safari park died after a lion apparently attacked him as he tried to take the animal to its cage, police said Friday (file image)
Kenichi Kato, a 53-year-old worker at the Tohoku Safari Park (pictured as GV) in the Fukushima region, was killed by the lion
Kato was an experienced employee for 27 years who worked with carnivores such as lions, tigers and bears, according to local media.
“We apologize to Mr Kato and his family,” Mr Kumakubo said.
‘We take this extremely seriously. We will take measures to prevent similar accidents.’
The facility will remain closed until effective prevention measures can be implemented, Mr Kumakubo said.