WATCH the horrific moment a zookeeper has his face ripped off by a group of lions after stepping into their cage to “impress his girlfriend”.
The animal keeper, named as F. Iriskulov, 44, unwittingly filmed himself being mauled to death by the big cats at Lion Park, Uzbekistan.
The night worker films himself opening a padlock to the enclosure at 5am.
He was intending to send a video of him with the apex predators to his girlfriend.
At first the lions are unbothered and remain lying down in the corner, watching the reckless keeper.
The man goads the beasts, repeatedly calling “Simba”.
Suddenly, when Iriskulov gets too close, they spring up and he leaps back in surprise – but still they don’t attack.
Instead of escaping the cage at this point, the man continues to talk to the lions, saying “Simba, be quiet”.
The three lions, clearly agitated, are all on their feet pacing around the room and sniffing the man.
The camera flashes to the doomed man’s face for a moment, before returning to the lions.
Finally, after two minutes, one of the lions can be seen clamping down on the man’s arm, who shrieks out in pain.
At this point the phone falls to the ground, but the man’s bloodcurdling screams can be heard alongside the lion’s low growl as it tucks into him.
The man continues to shout “Be quiet, be quiet”, but the lions won’t be put off.
The footage then cuts out, but the three lions reportedly killed the man and devoured him.
Photos from the aftermath – too graphic to public – show the man’s skull stripped of all the face flesh, leaving only a gory mess.
His limbs were also severed into several mutilated chunks.
When other zoo workers arrived four hours later in the morning, they found Iriskulov’s grisly remains in the cage and the three lions on the loose.
Staff tranquillised two of the creatures in order to recapture them, but the third had to be shot dead.
The park reported the incident to the police and environmental authorities who arrived at the scene and opened an investigation.
The mutilated corpse was sent off for examination.
An official statement from the zoo said: “The lions killed him and partially consumed his body.”
Lion Park opened in May 2019 and houses various animals including a brown bar, eagles, 10 African lions and five cubs.
The Uzbek Department of Internal Affairs announced that the lions have been safely returned to their designated enclosure after appropriate actions were taken.
“No other people in the vicinity were harmed.
“There is currently no danger to the local population.”
