A man who climbed over 18 feet to enter a lion’s enclosure was fatally attacked in front of horrified zoo visitors.
Gerson de Melo Machado, 19, was mauled to death after he invaded a lioness’ enclosure at Parque Zoobotânico Arruda Câmara in João Pessoa, Brazil, on Sunday morning, according to the Brazilian newspaper Correio Braziliense.
Machado climbed up the side structure of the lioness’ cage and lowered himself into the enclosure by sliding down a tree, as seen in a disturbing video on X.
The lioness pounced on Machado as he was descending. He seemed to try to escape from the animal before he was pulled to the ground, the video shows.
The zoo will remain closed until investigations and official procedures are completed, it announced Sunday on Instagram.
In a separate Instagram post, the zoo said the lioness will not be euthanized as it is healthy and has not exhibited aggressive behavior outside of this incident.
The zoo assured people that the lioness will be observed and monitored, as it has experienced a high level of stress.
Machado had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been institutionalized several times, his child welfare counselor, Verônica Oliveira, told Correio Braziliense.
He dreamed of taming lions on a safari in Africa and once tried to sneak into the landing gear of an airplane hoping to be taken there, Oliveira said.
