Animals Man breaks into rhino enclosure at Basel Zoo
A man broke into an enclosure at Basel Zoo and tried to attack a rhinoceros bull. According to reports, the man was in a state of mental distress. The incident occurred on Monday.
21.02.2025, 14:05
21.02.2025, 14:51
SDA
"Although there was contact between the man and the rhino bull Puri, neither the man nor the animal was injured," said a spokeswoman for the zoo on request.
At the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency, the Basel cantonal police confirmed an incident at the zoo on Friday, which was reported by the German newspaper "Die Oberbadische". It involved a person "in a difficult life situation", said the spokesperson. He did not want to reveal more for reasons of privacy.
Apparently, the man was no longer in the enclosure when the police arrived. The zoo spokesperson went on to say that the zookeeper who had been called had been able to persuade the man to come to him in the safe area. The incident occurred on Monday. The zoo and the police gave no details of the man's motive.
In 1990, a visitor's "excursion" into the rhino enclosure ended fatally. A 29-year-old woman had climbed into the rhino enclosure to stroke a young one. A mother rhino felt threatened and attacked the woman.
