The bear mauled a 23-year-old animal keeper, B Nagesh Babu, to death at the animal night house in the Vizag Zoo on 27 November.
Himalayan Bear in Vizag Zoo. (Creative Commons)
In a worrying incident, an animal keeper at the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh was mauled to death by a Himalayan black bear.
The bear mauled a 23-year-old animal keeper, B Nagesh Babu, to death at the Vizag Zoo on Monday, 27 November.
The bear, named Jihwan and estimated to be around 15 years old, attacked Babu in the animal night house when he was about to leave after cleaning the area.
“Nagesh had left all the doors open in the animal night house and gone inside to clean, following which the animal came into the night house and attacked the keeper,” said Vizag Zoo curator Nandani Salaria in a release.
According to the zoo officials, Babu was found lying in an unconscious state with serious injuries on his head, left arm and chest near the animal night house.
“He reportedly did not close any of the doors when entering the night room and enclosed area to clean the area and feed the animals. The bear came from the night room into the enclosed area, where Nagesh attempted to send it back,” Inspector G Soma Sekhar of Arilova Police Station told South First.
“Despite caring for the bear for the last three years, Babu couldn’t avert the attack and succumbed to severe injuries, during treatment at KG Hospital in the city,” added the inspector.
Following the attack, the zoo officials successfully lured the bear back into its enclosure using honey.
The Forest Department announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh for Babu’s kin.
When questioned about the absence of CCTVs near the enclosed area, the officer explained: “We have registered the case under section 174 (Unnatural death) and will investigate the zoo authorities regarding the installation of CCTVs in the enclosed area.”
(With PTI inputs)
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