Following the death of the an intruder who died after one of the lions in the cage attacked and killed him, the Accra zoo has been shut down.
The Forestry Commission to decision to close down the Accra zoo is to allow investigations into the demise of the middle-aged man who lost his life after scaling the fence and entered the lion’s cage.
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The Head of Corporate Affairs and Media Relations at the Forestry Commission, Joyce Ofori Kwafo told Citi News “a staff of the Accra Zoo was going round yesterday and noticed a lifeless body in the lion cage. He quickly drew closer to assess the situation. They quickly called in the Achimoa police after which the body was conveyed to the mortuary.”
She said the Commission is certain that the deceased broke into the cage.
“After a closer look, we realised that the deceased intruded. He did not use the right means to enter the zoo. The zoo is situated in the Achimota Forest. Whenever we get tourists, we assign tour guides to them. The cages of the lions are a bit far away from where the rest of the animals are. The idea is to give the lions something close to their natural habitat.”
“The place has been properly secured. It has an outer and inner lock. The inner wall is 20 ft high. It is evident that the man tampered with the cage. We all suspect that he went in through there.”
The Forestry Commission further cleared the authorities of the zoo of any blame.
“There was no security lapse. This incident beats our understanding. It has never happened before and we are all baffled,” she added.
As Znewsgh.com earlier on reported that a lion at the Accra zoo located at the Achimota Forest has devoured a middle-aged man.
According to reports, the middle-aged man was attacked and injured by of the lions, after he broke into the lion’s cage.
The man died from the many injuries he sustained after the lion attacked him.
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Authorities at the zoo do not know the motivation behind the man’s actions.
The CEO of the Forestry Commission, John Allotey in a statement said
“Around 12:00 hours today 28th August 2022, officials of the Accra Zoo on a routine patrol, noticed a middle-aged man (an intruder) had jumped the security fences and entered the lions’ enclosure of the Zoo. The motive of the intruder is yet to be determined. The intruder was attacked and injured by one of the lions, within the inner fencing of the enclosure.”
“The intruder has been confirmed dead from injuries sustained, and the body has been conveyed to the morgue.”