Doofus Of The Day #1,095

 

Today's award goes to a sadly (?) departed (and certainly misguided) thief in Ghana.

The authorities in Ghana are investigating after a man was mauled to death by a lion after he climbed into a zoo enclosure in the capital, Accra.

The man, described as middle-aged, died from his injuries after Sunday's attack, officials say.

Wildlife authorities suspect he may have planned to steal two rare white lion cubs which have become a big draw since their birth last November.

The victim's body was retrieved from the zoo and taken to a local morgue.

. . .

A lion, a lioness and their two white cubs were in the enclosure when the incident happened.

"The lions have cubs so if you come too close they may feel you are trying to take away their babies," Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Benito Owusu Bio told journalists.

"We ask the public to desist from doing anything like this," he added.

There's more at the link.

Based on my decades of experience in Africa, one explanation springs immediately to mind, based on several similar incidents of which I'm aware.

The would-be thief may have been a shaman, or witch doctor, or whatever local name is given to animist spiritual leaders.  The blood and body parts of white or albino lions are regarded as among the most powerful ingredients for muti, or juju, or whatever they call animist herbal/magical concoctions in that part of the world.  I won't be surprised to learn that this witchdoctor brewed up a potion to make himself invulnerable or invisible to lions, then worked his way into their enclosure to steal their babies.

I gather from the result that his protective potion... er... wasn't, and that Mommy and Daddy Lion had decided feelings (backed up by an abundant supply of teeth and claws) about their children staying right where they were, thank you very much.

Africa wins again . . .

Peter