Nigeria: Lion kills zookeeper at university

IFE-IFE: A zookeeper at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in southwestern Nigeria died after being attacked by a male lion he had been looking after for nearly a decade.

The late zookeeper at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) had been taking care of the lion since its birth nine years ago. The university said it was trying to determine the cause of the accident.

Olabode Olawuyi was feeding the lion when the incident happened. Another staff member working at the zoo was also injured, local media reported.

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What else do we know about the incident?

A university spokesperson was cited by the German “dpa” news agency as saying that Olawuyi’s colleagues tried to save him, but he had already been badly injured.

“The aggressive lion was euthanised,” the university said. It added that an investigation into the cause of the accident had been launched.

Unconfirmed reports from local media suggested Olawuyi had left the lion’s cage open while attempting to feed it.

Olawuyi had managed the university zoo for a decade and had been taking care of the lion in question since its birth nine years ago.