One of the lions that the university zookeeper in Nigeria had been caring for for almost ten years has murdered him.
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) reported in a statement that Olabode Olawuyi, the zoo’s manager, was attacked as he was feeding the lions.
According to the university, one of the lions had already gravely wounded him, so his teammates were powerless to save him. Since then, the lion has been killed.
The lions had been in the care of Mr. Olawuyi, a veterinary technologist, “since they were born on campus about nine years ago.”
“But, tragically, the male lion killed the man who had been feeding them,” the university’s spokesman, Abiodun Olarewaju, said.
“We never knew what came over the male lion that it had to attack [him],” he added.
Social media users in Nigeria have been posting gruesome pictures of the mauling at the university in the southwest state of Osun.
The university community has expressed its condolences to Mr. Olawuyi’s family and is in mourning.
Prof. Adebayo Simeon Bamire, vice-chancellor of the institution, expressed his sadness over the occurrence and gave the go-ahead for a comprehensive investigation.
The head of the students’ union, Abbas Akinremi, told the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard that the lions’ meal had resulted in “human error”—the zookeeper had neglected to lock the door.
While praising Mr. Olawuyi as a “good and humble man, who attended to us nicely whenever we went to the zoo,” he described the occurrence as regrettable.
At a zoo in Kano, northern Nigeria, Abba Gandu has been feeding lions for over 50 years. He called Monday’s occurrence regrettable and stated that additional safety precautions were required.
“I want to continue feeding lions until the day I die, so this incident wouldn’t personally affect me,” Mr. Gandu, who began doing so in 1971, stated.
The monkey he was attempting to feed bit his finger, he continued, describing it as his worst experience.
