A tragic incident occurred when a zookeeper was fatally attacked by lions after entering their enclosure in an attempt to ‘impress his girlfriend,’ capturing the terrifying moment on video.
On December 17, while on his night shift at Lion Park in Parkent, Uzbekistan, a zookeeper named F Iriskulov entered a padlocked area at the private reserve and filmed the event.
The video reveals the moment he stepped into the courtyard, where three lions were present, before the animals approached him and launched an attack.
The 44-year-old documented himself unlocking the padlock to a courtyard area containing three lions.
Initially, the lions appeared indifferent to his presence until they unexpectedly stood up. Rather than immediately attacking, the lions wandered closer as Iriskulov addressed one of the lions, called Simba.
He can be heard in the video saying: “Simba, be quiet.”
According to EAST2WEST, the zookeeper recorded the video intending to send it to his girlfriend to ‘impress’ her.
Despite his repeated attempts to tell the lions to ‘be quiet,’ the animals moved closer until his calming voice turned to panicked shouts, and the lions began their attack.
The video cuts off shortly after the zookeeper’s cries escalate, and reports indicate that two of the lions were tranquilized while the third was shot dead by zoo officials.
By the time officials arrived, the lions had already killed Iriskulov and ‘partially consumed the body,’ as revealed in an official statement.
Regional police stated, as quoted by The Mirror: “Today, December 17, three lions kept in a single cage at the Lion Park private zoo, located in the Parkent district of Tashkent Region, escaped into the zoo’s courtyard.
“[…] The lions entered the yard, attacking and injuring a 44-year-old keeper born in 1980. Unfortunately, the keeper later died from his injuries.”
This incident is not isolated, as there have been other occurrences where zookeepers have died following conflicts with lions.
Similarly, in Nigeria, a trained lion handler named Babaji Daule was mauled to death in September 2024 while attempting to demonstrate the animal’s feeding routine.
Daule was an experienced lion handler at the Presidential Library Wildlife Park in Abeokuta, located in Nigeria’s Ogun state.
The zookeeper reportedly died ‘on the spot’ after sustaining ‘serious fatal injuries’ to his neck.
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