A man was found dead in Pakistan after a wild animal was seen with a shoe in its mouth, CBS News reported Wednesday.
A body was discovered in the enclosure of a large feline at the local zoo in Pakistan, according to CBS News. This discovery was made by zoo staff Wednesday. The first sign that something was off was when a zoo worker noticed the animal with a shoe in its mouth during routine cleaning.
Government official Zaheer Anwar provided details to the press and explained that the zoo staff were initially conducting their usual cleaning tasks, per CBS News. They found the large cat, which Anwar described with a term that could refer to either a tiger or a leopard in the local context, clutching a shoe. This led them to investigate further and ultimately led to the discovery of a body in the animal’s den. (RELATED: Sheriff’s Deputy Kills Tiger After It Attacked Man At Zoo)
“When they cleaned the zoo and the dens, they found the (animal) holding a shoe in its mouth,” Anwar said, the outlet noted.
A man was found dead inside a big cat enclosure at a Pakistan zoo on Wednesday by staff carrying out routine cleaning, officials said. https://t.co/rSIhRm7AAy
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 7, 2023
“The staff got suspicious and then they found a body inside the den,” the government official said, per CBS News.
Anwar suggested that the deceased individual might have deliberately entered the enclosure, CBS News reported.
“Our assessment so far is that this appears to be a lunatic, because a sensible person would not jump into the den. You can see that the den is secured. There are stairs behind the den, maybe he jumped from there,” he said, the outlet noted. All staff members in the zoo are accounted for.
Rescue official Zafarullah reported to the media that the victim’s legs appeared to have been severely mauled, per CBS News. He added that the identity of the individual and the circumstances of how they ended up in the enclosure were still under investigation. The body seemed to have been there for several hours before it was found.