Thiruvananthapuram: A young man from Ottappalam, who has been missing for the past two days, made a daring appearance at the zoo in Thiruvananthapuram by jumping into the enclave for lions.
Even though 33-year-old Murukan Thonippadath provoked the lion, the staff's timely intervention saved him.
His family had been searching for him since his disappearance on February 18. His brother had even published his photograph in newspapers.
According to sources, the 33-year-old man was accompanied by a woman when he went to the zoo on Wednesday. But police are checking the surveillance footage to ascertain this.
The man in a blue shirt and a white mundu, the same dress as described in the newspaper ad, bought a ticket at the entrance and sneaked up to the open cage. He climbed up the barbed fence and jumped over the short wall and the moat towards two-year-old lion Gracy.
Though Gracy showed no interest in the intruder, Murukan proved to be quite a tease. The beast was annoyed to the point of striking him when the zoo staff were alerted by visitors.
The zookeepers diverted the lion’s attention and brought Murukan out of the enclave. He was whisked away from the den soon.
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