In Turkey, a 53-year-old farmer has been seriously injured after being attacked by a lion. The lion Zeus escaped from the Land of Lions zoo in the Turkish city of Manavgat on Sunday morning.
When the lion attacked the farmer, he was sleeping outside after watering his pistachio trees. “I heard a kind of whispering sound. When I lifted my blanket, the lion would jump on me,” says Suleyman Kir. “We started wrestling and fighting. When I grabbed its neck, the lion would run away.”
Police officers searching for the lion heard the fight and were able to scare the animal off by shooting into the air. Police teams and drones later found Zeus in a nearby forest area. The lion was shot dead.
Kir was admitted to hospital with wounds to his head, shoulder and legs. It is still unclear how the lion escaped, but an investigation has been launched.
