ISTANBUL

The freak occurrence of a lion escaping from a zoo in Türkiye’s southern Antalya province on Sunday led to an even rarer lion bite and an exceptional survival from a lion attack.

The male lion, named Zeus, broke out of its enclosure at the Land of Lions (Aslan Diyari) zoo in the Manavgat district around 3.21 am, according to the Antalya Governor’s Office.

Suleyman Kir, who was bitten by Zeus, was taken to Akdeniz University Hospital for treatment.

The university rector said the patient described putting up a serious fight with the big cat.

“The patient said the lion grabbed him by the throat and then fled. He had serious injuries to both ears, which we treated. There were also wounds on his abdomen and legs. He has an incomplete fracture in his neck – not severe enough to require surgery but will need to be monitored for a while,” Ozlenen Ozkan told reporters.

Saying that if the fracture had gone a bit deeper, it could have resulted in paralysis, Ozkan said that the facial injuries stopped above the eye, calling the patient “lucky.”

“We’ve done the necessary treatment. Now he’s undergoing infection treatment and will be monitored for a while longer. But we hope to discharge him in a few days,” he added.

Stressing the rareness of the attack in Türkiye, Ozkan said that the case will be one for the history books.

“It’s a very rare occurrence. This was actually only the second lion bite case treated at our hospital,” he added.

Ozkan said that Kir was familiar with nature and animals and won the fight due to his bravery.

Human wins fight against king of jungle

Kir’s wife, who witnessed the incident, said that Kir fought with a lion for 20 minutes for his very life.

Gulperi Kir said that after turning on the irrigation system in their pistachio field, they had lain down to rest.

"It was around 3.30 or 4 am. We covered ourselves with a blanket to protect against mosquitoes. When I heard the mosque’s call to prayer, I tried to get up to pray, but I couldn’t. Suddenly, I felt something touch my left foot. I thought it bit me and wondered, ‘Is it a dog? A cat?’ I sat up and saw something huge – at first I thought it was a dog,” she told Anadolu.

“My husband got up. We were both wearing military-style jackets and had a blanket over us. He struggled for 15-20 minutes with the lion. We called family members and our neighbor – they came. Then the lion moved quite far away, about 15–20 meters (50-65 feet). Four vehicles, including the police and gendarmerie, arrived. With flashlights, they saw the lion walking toward the other side of the pistachio field, and then it left."

Still in disbelief over what happened, she added: "Even if I saw it in a dream, I wouldn’t believe it. There was a 5-liter (1.3-gallon) water bottle – I threw it at the lion, but it did nothing. There was a car nearby, too, but I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have the strength."

Suleyman Kir’s son, Ahmet Kir, shared a video of his father following the attack.

"I had a blanket over me. When I lifted the blanket, I saw the lion had pounced on me. We wrestled for a while. I called for help, but there was no one around. During that time, the lion bit my thigh and my neck. I grabbed its neck and squeezed it – at that moment, it ran away. It moved about 10 meters (33 feet) away and stood there. That’s when law enforcement arrived,” Suleyman Kir said in the video.

In May 2023, at the same wildlife park, a 4-year-old was injured in a lion attack after being taken into an area accessible only to staff.

The child was treated at Akdeniz University Hospital.