Lions who killed zookeeper in Bangkok didn't eat him, attacked him on 'pure instinct'

An autopsy conducted on the zookeeper who was killed in a lion attack at Safari World, Bangkok, showed multiple injuries, including broken bones.

His neck was broken, his windpipe torn, and his thigh sliced open, severing major veins and arteries.

He also suffered broken ribs and a fractured collarbone.

But his organs were intact, and the lions did not eat the victim, the autopsy found.

Jian Rangkharasamee, a 58-year-old veteran zookeeper, had been standing outside his vehicle with his back turned to the animals when a lion pounced on him from about 10 metres away.

Four other lions then joined in, reported Nation Thailand.

Attacked on instinct

The director-general of Thailand's Department of National Parks, Atthapol Charoenchansa, said that the five lions involved will be confined and undergo behavioural adjustment.

This is because their dangerous behaviour may become habitual if left without intervention, he said.

Atthapol added that the lions were fed regularly and are believed to have attacked on instinct, according to Nation Thailand.

He also noted that the attack likely resulted from the zookeeper's negligence, as he should not have left the vehicle.

“The animal attacked the victim by biting the back of his neck. Then it was the instinct of the group to join in the hunt. The dead man was dragged around the vehicle. That was pure instinct of predators,” he told Bangkok Post.

Might have been playing

Previously, a veterinarian from the Department of National Parks posited that the lions might simply have been attempting to play with the keeper.

Footage of the incident showed that they were not fully mature and in the pre-adolescent stage, the vet said, according to Khaosod English.

Due to their youth, they might have been experimenting with hunting through playful mauling, and inadvertently injured him, the vet suggested.

Top image from Khaosod English