Inquiry launched after half-eaten human body found in tiger’s cage in Pakistan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Authorities on Thursday launched an inquiry after a half-eaten human body was found in a tiger's cage at a local zoo in northeastern Pakistan.

The mauled and mutilated body of the man was found in a large cage, home to four tigers, at “Lion’s Garden” in Bahawalpur district of northeastern Punjab province, Deputy Commissioner Zaheer Anwar Jappa told reporters.

The ill-fated man has been identified as Mohammad Bilawal, a resident of the provincial capital Lahore with a criminal record, Jappa said.

“His body was found on Wednesday morning when a zoo employee entered the cage to feed the tigers,” Jappa said, adding that the tigers ate some of the flesh of the body’s lower torso, including legs. However, the victim’s face and upper parts were still intact.

Ali Usman Bokhari, the zoo curator, told reporters that the deceased appeared to be a drug addict or mentally challenged.

A zoo official, on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu that the deceased used a ladder to enter the sprawling courtyard of the cage late Tuesday night, where he was attacked by the tigers.

“Tigers, at night, are otherwise locked in the two rooms. However, for the last several days, they are not locked in the rooms as a tigress, which has recently given birth to three cubs, is occupying the rooms,” he added.

Some 137-year-old Lion’s Garden had long served as a breeding site for tigers before it was converted into a zoo in 1942 by the then rulers of the erstwhile princely state.