Man Killed by Lion After Breaking Into Zoo Enclosure
A 19-year old Brazilian man with a deep love of animals and a history of mental issues was killed this week after he deliberately climbed into the lion exhibit at the Arruda Camara Zoo Botanical Park. During public hours, in front of a crowd that begged him to stop, Gerson de Melo Machado climbed a fence, then lowered himself into the exhibit, where a lion was watching and waiting. The video of the incident is out there, but I've opted not to share it here.
It's difficult to say if this was a suicide, or if the young man was expecting a different outcome. He previously had been caught trying to smuggle himself onto a plane to Africa so that he could be among animals.
My deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Machado, as well as all of the zoo goers and staff who had to witness this tragedy. The zoo has confirmed that the lion, which, of course, was behaving as one would expect of a lion, is safe and unharmed, and euthanasia was never considered.
Building a zoo exhibit that keeps animals in is, in all reality, not that difficult. Building one that prevents casual, accidental entry by humans is also feasible, though mistakes do happen, especially when barriers are reduced to improve accessibility of the exhibit and viewing of animals; think a child getting dropped by mistake into an open-moated enclosure. But building an exhibit that prevents any possible access by a very determined person who wants to get in/access the animal no matter what? That's a lot trickier, probably only possible if every exhibit is completely enclosed in glass or acrylic.
The zoo remains temporarily closed while a security review is carried out.
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