Zoo intruder mauled to death by tigers

Staff negligence blamed for tragic incident

BAHAWALPUR:

Four tigers attacked and mauled a citizen to death in Bahawalpur Zoo on Wednesday. Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab took notice of the incident and the negligence of zoo staff.

An unknown person entered the zoo late at night and fell inside the tiger enclosure. The four caged tigers tore the man apart and carried his remains inside their cages and ate them. At 11:30am in the morning, zoo staff found a shoe in a tiger’s mouth, before discovering the rest of the unidentified victim’s body. Though unidentified, he was reportedly a drug addict.

The DC, District Administration, police and wildlife personnel rushed to the scene, while rescue and forensics teams also arrived.

In this regard, DC Bahawalpur Zaheer Anwar said that the incident occurred due to poor security and an investigation is ongoing into how the citizen entered the tigers’ enclosure. He said that the incident took place during the night and that a post-mortem of the body will also be conducted will also be conducted. Departmental action will be taken against negligent staff.

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Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi took notice of the tiger attack and sought a report from Secretary Wildlife and Commissioner Bahawalpur. He further ordered them to investigate the incident and identify staff whose negligence caused the incident. The Chief Minister also ordered departmental and legal action against negligent staff and ordered a security audit of zoos to ensure that all safety measures are ensured for visitors.

Regarding the tiger attack, Deputy Director Wildlife sent a preliminary report to Director General Wildlife. It is not stated in the report as to how the deceased citizen entered the limits of the zoo and questions why none of the staff knew about it.

In February 2020, an 18-year-old boy who was reported missing was found dismembered inside a lion’s cage at a zoo in Lahore.

Identified as Bilal by local media, the boy had been reported missing since Monday but his family came forward to search for him in the park.

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Lahore Safari Park Director Chaudhry Shafqat said the remains of the teen’s body were discovered after the family contacted the park administration on Wednesday morning.

Police investigation revealed that the boy had climbed the fence and entered the park to cut grass.

Bilal’s uncle was an employee of the park, police said, adding that while he was cutting grass the lions attacked him.

The police claim to have found a sickle, grass and human remains from the site, adding that the incident took place on Monday.

Punjab’s people are no strangers to animal attacks. In August of this year, wild wolves began attacking livestock in Bhakkar’s Tehsil Mankera. Wolf attacks are still continuing after the consumption of multiple animals. Authorities were repeatedly informed about the incidents to no avail and affected citizens were firmly in the grip of fear.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2023.