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This is the shocking moment a reportedly drunk man dives into a moat surrounding a lion enclosure so he can“shake hands” with the big cats.
Onlookers screamed as the 35-year-old man wades across the chest high waters towards the large animals waiting for him at the water’s edge.
Mukesh Kumar was visiting Nehru Zoo Park in Hyderabad with friends and had reportedly been drinking beforehand, when he spotted the lion’s exhibit.
He then decided to take a dip and jumped down 12ft below the viewing platform. As the footage shows, his sudden jump and loud noise of the splash created havoc among the visitors. While they frantically tried to tell him to stay put, a drunk Mr Kumar waded forwards while lions Krishna and Radhika waited for him.
He could be heard singing: “Please come to me my darling”, while eye-witnesses and police say he then began requesting the lions shake hands with him.
Luckily for the man, the animals seemed uninterested with some walking away.
Quick-thinking animal keepers through down a pole for the man to grab on to and be hauled out.
Park curator Shivani Dogra said: “The lioness Radhika was inside the enclosure but the person was rescued unhurt by its keeper R Papaiah.
“After preliminary enquiry it was found that Mukesh was in an inebriated state and had jumped inside the enclosure to go near the lion. He has been handed over to Bahadurpura Police.”
Mr Kumar spent the night in police custody and was charged under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.
Police inspector Harish Kaushik said: “He told us he wanted to see the lions up close and shake hands with one of them. He is lucky enough to have survived.
“The zoo keepers told us that it was the time of the cats for their feed and they responded to their voice when called out. We have booked him but will again question him after he sobers up.”
Mr Kumar works as a labourer with L&T Metro Rail in Hyderabad, he is original from Rajasthan in the north of India. Watch the video below:
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