NEW DELHI: Five years ago, the world watched in horror as Vijay mauled to death a man who fell into a dry moat inside the enclosure of tigers in the Delhi Zoo. Guards clapped and shooed, but the 200-kg white tiger dragged away from the hapless man by his neck.
Shaken by the tragedy, Delhi Zoo will soon get a custom-made steel cage for providing a safe place for any unfortunate intruder caught in such a dangerous situation. Guess what? One such cage will be soon placed in the enclosure of none other than Vijay as part of a pilot project.
“This human-sized cage is like an immediate safety measure so that a person can take shelter in such a situation. This attempt will be a first in the entire country,” informed Renu Singh, Director of Delhi’s National Zoological Park.
Made of stainless steel, the cage has two entrances, allowing a person to enter easily and lock it from inside. There will be a board with necessary instructions on how to react if one finds oneself in such a situation.
The cage, which is being given final touches, is designed to ensure that a big cat cannot break open the door, or do any harm to the person inside it.
The gaps between the metal bars have been kept narrow to prevent the powerful animal from harming the occupant by clawing at it.
“In this project, we also plan to help a person who might need immediate medical support. We plan to have the option of retrieving the entire cage and its occupant with the help of a crane in case we are unable to drive away the tiger inside its enclosure,” Singh said.
The zoo officials had faced a lot of criticism in 2014 after they were unable to help Maqsood, the 22-year-old man who had fallen into the enclosure of Vijay.
Also, zoo officials were unable to access a tranquilliser gun as it was locked away and the vet, who had the key, was not present at that time.
What made it worse was that a video showing the grisly attack went viral in a matter of minutes. Several questions were raised regarding the security of visitors to the zoo.
Learning from the unfortunate episode, Delhi Zoo now plans to place such cages in enclosures of wild animals which are known for their ferocity. For now, zoo officials have decided to place such steel cages inside the enclosures of bears and tigers.
Zoo had drawn flak for man’s death
Delhi Zoo authorities had faced a lot of criticism for having failed to help a 22-year-old man who was mauled to death by a tiger after falling into its enclosure in 2014.
A tranquilliser gun was locked away and the veterinary doctor who had the key was not present at that time