Mentally unstable 'hugs' lion in Delhi zoo, escapes unhurt

New Delhi : A 25-year-old mentally-unstable man leapt into the enclosure of a lion at the Delhi zoo on Thursday, came face to face with the big cat and moved around unconcerned about the lurking danger, before the zoo staff rescued him after tranquillising the animal.

The incident brought back the dreadful memories of a 2014 episode when a white tiger mauled a man to death after he had jumped inside its enclosure in the Delhi zoo. The ghastly incident had hit the headlines world over, prompting the zoo authorities to review security measures.

Rehan Khan, who hails from Bihar's East Champaran district and currently resides in Delhi's Seelampur area, jumped around 20 feet down into the moat, walked up to the lion and casually sat in front of it.

All of this happened within a few seconds, a zoo official said. A zoo official attributed primarily two reasons for the lion not attacking the man even though it was empty stomach when the incident occurred.

The lion is given food at 5 pm everyday when it retreats to its cage, the official said. "First, the family of the man has said he's mentally unstable and thus, he was not afraid of the animal and made a direct eye contact with it.

"Second, Sundram was born in the zoo and has been taken care of by his handler since his birth. It doesn't really know how to kill. Also, he thought that the man was one of us (the zoo staff)," he said.