Lioness Escapes Enclosure, Attacks Caretake at Hyderabad's Nehru Zoological Park

Hyderabad: A lioness escaped from her enclosure at Hyderabad's Nehru Zoological Park on Monday and reportedly attacked its caretaker. The female African lion named Sirisha, aged 8 years, suffering from hind limb paralysis was under treatment in the Summer House area. However, it escaped when Syed Hussain, who takes care of the enclosure, was cleaning the animal house after attacking him.

The zoo issued a statement and said that the lioness managed to break free due to negligence by an assistant animal keeper.

The incident occurred at 10:20 AM when Syed Hussain, the assistant animal keeper, failed to properly close the enclosure doors while cleaning the night houses. As a result, Sirisha exited her night enclosure and injured Hussain with her paws. The injured keeper ran out, alerting zone employees about the escape. The support staff promptly reported the incident to higher authorities.

Following standard operating procedures, the main gates were immediately closed. It was fortunate that the zoo was closed for its regular Monday holiday, reducing the number of visitors. Security personnel and the veterinary team, who were on rounds for health check-ups, were alerted and responded within 10 minutes. They successfully tranquilized the lioness near the crocodile moat and returned her to the night house within 20 minutes.

Hussain was taken to Osmania General Hospital for treatment and has since been discharged. In response to the incident, the zoo director has appointed an inquiry committee to investigate and provide a detailed report. Preliminary findings by the Deputy Range Officer indicate that Mr. Hussain exhibited carelessness and irresponsibility in monitoring the wild animals while closing the gates. The zoo's limited staffing on Monday, a holiday, also contributed to the incident.

The committee has decided to bring in experts to train staff on handling similar situations in the future and to develop strategies to prevent such incidents. This is not the first time such an escape has occurred at the zoo, prompting management to enhance monitoring and improve safety protocols to prevent future occurrences.