A zookeeper has been eaten alive by a pack of lions, a safari park in Thailand announced on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
An eyewitness to the attack gave a baffling description to the local TV network. He said the experienced animal handler got out of his vehicle and turned his back on the lions, apparently waiting for them to approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stood for about three minutes, then a lion walked slowly and grabbed him from the back. He did not scream,\u201d Professor Tavatchai Kanchanarin told Thairath TV.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree or four other lions then joined in… biting the zookeeper.\u201d The medical professor said he thought the man\u2019s behavior was \u201cweird.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visitors to the park watched helplessly as the pride chewed him to the bone, unable to do anything but blare the horns of their vehicles and wait 15 minutes for authorities to arrive with guns, according to the Daily Mail.<\/p>\n
The wildlife protection director at Thailand\u2019s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Sadudee Punpugdee, told AFP that the zookeeper \u201cusually fed the lions\u201d and was mauled by six or seven cats.<\/p>\n
Questions have since been raised about the park\u2019s safety standards, although an unnamed senior official told local media, \u201cWe have rules and we repeat them often as we work with dangerous animals.\u201d<\/p>\n