Zookeeper in Nigeria mauled, killed by lion after leaving enclosure unlocked: reports

A zookeeper at a wildlife park in Nigeria was reportedly mauled and killed by a lion after failing to secure the locks of the animal's enclosure.

The 35-year-old zookeeper was killed on Sept. 28 at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Wildlife Park in Abeokuta, the capital of Nigeria's Ogun state, according to the BBC and multiple local Nigerian news outlets. The zookeeper was identified as Babaji Daule, according to the outlets, and was described as a trained lion handler.

“The zookeeper, apparently, feeling comfortable with the animal, left the safety protection gate open and proceeded to feed the animal. He was mauled by the animal and died on the spot," the wildlife park said in a statement to BBC. "To prevent further mutilation of the body, the animal was put down immediately by personnel of the park.”

USA TODAY has reached out to the wildlife park for more information.

The incident occurred in the evening, outside of the wildlife park's normal hours of operation, the outlets say.

According to Nigeria's Punch newspaper, officials from the wildlife park said that “the zookeeper, at the heeding of some guests who came after the closing time of the park, agreed to take the guests to demonstrate the feeding routine of the lion in its inner enclosure," adding that, "it is important to state that this activity fell completely out of the standard feeding routine of the park.”

Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Zookeeper in Nigeria mauled, killed by lion after leaving enclosure unlocked: reports