A man has filmed his own death in an attempt to recapture three lions, the guard wanted to film the event to send to his girlfriend to impress her, but was brutalised by the beasts
A zookeeper attempting to “impress his girlfriend” by recapturing three escaped lions has tragically filmed his own death after the animals attacked and ate him.
The zookeeper named F Iriskulov, 44, was seen unlocking a padlock at the private zoo, Lion Park in Parkent, Uzbekistan, during his night shift at 5am. The three lions that would later attack him had escaped to the courtyard from their enclosure.
The footage, recorded by Iriskulov, shows three lions that are initially quite relaxed watching him approach.
Suddenly, the lions spring up. The predators don’t attack but the zookeeper can be heard repeatedly calling the names of one of the lions as he says: “Simba” and repeatedly tells the animal: “Simba, be quiet.”
It is understood the lion escaped their enclosure due to a door being left unlocked. The zookeeper was attempting to film the recapturing to later send to his girlfriend. The man is heard screaming and on the footage and is apparently being bitten while the recording is still running.
The zookeeper continues to say: “Be quiet, be quiet,” throughout the footage. The footage and reports suggets the lions devoured the zookeeper.
Two of the lions were tranquilised by rescuers, however, the third was shot dead. The other zookeepers found the man’s remains hours after the attack and an official statement said: “The lions killed him and partially consumed his body.”
Regional police stated: “Today, December 17, three lions kept in a single cage at the Lion Park private zoo, located in Parkent district of Tashkent Region, escaped into the zoo’s courtyard […] The lions entered the courtyard, attacking and injuring a 44-year-old keeper born in 1980. Unfortunately, the keeper later died from his injuries.”
The zoo where the incident took place, Lion Park, is home to various animals including, brown bears, eagles, 10 adult African lions and five lion cubs. The private zoo was opened in 2019.