The “suicidal man had penetrated into the paddock with the lions, ripped his clothes off and began to tease our animals,” AFP reported Montalva as saying.
The carnivorous felines, a male and a female, instinctively attacked and had to be put down. Anesthetic darts would not have stopped the attack in time, she explained.
Security protocols kicked in immediately when staff saw the man climb down with a rope into the African lions' enclosure.
“We're shaken by this because the animals in the zoo are part of our family,” Montalva said.
“These were lions that had been with us for more than 20 years. The man, in his 20s or 30s, was taken to a hospital with critical injuries,” the director added.
The incident took place on Saturday when there was a large crowd of visitors.
