(KTLA) — A lioness that killed a 19-year-old man at a Brazilian zoo in front of horrified zoo visitors is not expected to be euthanized, according to multiple media reports.
The Nov. 30 incident occurred after Gerson de Melo Machado, who reportedly had a history of mental illness, climbed into the animal’s enclosure at Parque Zoobotânica Arruda Câmara in João Pessoa, Brazil, according to the Brazilian news outlet Correio Braziliense.
Footage of the incident shows the 19-year-old scaling the upper wall and fence of the lion’s cage and then lowering himself down a tree.
The incident happened so fast that park authorities could not respond in time, leaving the terrible ordeal to unfold in front of families watching from outside the lion’s enclosure.
Lying next to a small pool in the cage, footage shows the lion getting up and running toward the center of the enclosure, where Machado was coming out of the tree. The 19-year-old pauses for just a moment, looking directly down at the animal, before he starts sliding down farther, and the lion attacks, violently ripping him off the tree and onto the ground.
Machado was able to get up from the onslaught and attempted to get away before the lion again pulled him down and out of sight.
It’s unclear how old the female lion, named Leona, is, but in a post to Instagram, zoo officials said the animal has never displayed aggressive behavior outside of this incident and will not be euthanized. They added that while Leona is healthy, she endured extreme stress as a result of Machado’s entry into the closure and will remain under observation.
The zoo was expected to remain closed while an investigation into the incident was completed.
NBC News reported that Machado had a prior schizophrenia diagnosis and had been hospitalized on several occasions. The young man reportedly dreamed about being a lion tamer in Africa and once attempted to stow away in the landing gear of a flight bound for the continent.