Reported by Reuters on 06/05/2006:

KIEV (Reuters) - A man shouting that God would keep him safe was mauled to death by a lioness in Kiev zoo after he crept into the animal's enclosure, a zoo official said on Monday.

"The man shouted 'God will save me, if he exists', lowered himself by a rope into the enclosure, took his shoes off and went up to the lions," the official said.

"A lioness went straight for him, knocked him down and severed his carotid artery."

The incident, Sunday evening when the zoo was packed with visitors, was the first of its kind at the attraction. Lions and tigers are kept in an "animal island" protected by thick concrete blocks.

Submitted on 06/05/2006

Submitted by: Sean Brady
Reference: Reuters (Yahoo) 06/05/2006

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
Thank you, Sean! This adds the juicy (no pun intended) details to Mikhail's original Russian submission! I beg to differ on the subject of God's existence, but I will say that even a cursory study of the Bible, Koran, &c will show that God expects us to act uprightly and not to abuse that which he has given us (a mind and common sense is common to all, but some choose not to use it)! This fellow didn't "get it", but he saved the zoo the price of a dozen or so pounds of grade "D" hamburger! :-)

Greg said:
Maybe Toss: Other
More info, but I'm still waivering on Too Common. And deliberately re-enacting Daniel in the Lion's Den only further confirms in my mind the guy was a complete loon!

Jorge said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat

Jack said:
Neutral: For Darwin's Eyes
This is enough additional information to warrent keeping for Darwin's (and the readers') eyes. Thanks, Sean.

Fitzroy said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
I thought "stupid person climbs into zoo cage with dangerous beasts" had officially become too common. Yet that whole "God will save me" bit does elevate it above a run-of-the-mill zoo enclosure death. If ever another DA is awarded based on this kind of scenario, this particular instance would be an outstanding candidate.