Lion kills man who hopped fence and jumped into enclosure at Ghana zoo

A man has been mauled to death by a lion at a zoo in Ghana after he jumped over the fence into its enclosure, the government said.

At around midday local time on Sunday, security guards noticed that a middle-aged man had scaled the tall mesh security fences and entered the pen at Accra Zoo.

The enclosure was home to the lion which killed the victim, as well as a lioness and their two cubs.

"The intruder was attacked and injured by one of the lions," the state Forestry Commission said on Sunday, adding the man's motive had yet to be determined.

The Commission said he had died from his wounds, and that his body had been taken to a morgue. Authorities will now investigate the incident, the statement said.

The government reassured the public that no animals had escaped from the zoo, and the lions remained secured in their enclosure.

The lions are one of the main attractions at Accra Zoo, where mesh fencing allows visitors to view the predators up close.

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