The Forestry Commission has closed down Accra Zoo for investigations to unravel the circumstances under which a middle aged man was supposedly killed by a lion.
The authorities were to ascertain how the man got ingress into the lion den, a situation many described as baffling.
Explaining to Accra based Citi News, Head of Corporate Affairs and Media Relations at the Forestry Commission, Joyce Ofori Kwafo said “a staff of the Accra Zoo was going round yesterday and noticed a lifeless body in the lion’s cage. He quickly drew closer to assess the situation. They quickly called in the Achimota police after which the body was conveyed to the mortuary.
“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 has however cleared the authorities of the zoo of any blame, saying that “There was no security lapse. This incident beats our understanding. It has never happened before and we are all baffled.”
By Vincent Kubi