A man is injured in a struggle with an escaped lion in southern Turkiye

People take a stroll on a foggy morning at the Camlica hill in Istanbul, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

ISTANBUL — A farmer was seriously injured when he was attacked by a lion that had escaped a zoo in southern Turkey on Sunday, local media reported. The lion was later shot dead.

The male lion, named Zeus, escaped his cage at Land of Lions in Manavgat, a resort city on the Mediterranean coast, in the early hours, the private Demiroren News Agency said. A few hours later, he attacked the 53-year-old man, who was sleeping outdoors after watering pistachio trees.

“I heard a whispering sound. When I lifted the blanket, the lion fell on me,” Suleyman Kir told the agency. “We struggled and fought. ... I grabbed his neck and squeezed. At that moment, he ran off a little.”

The Ilhas News Agency reported that police officers searching for the lion heard the noise of the struggle and scared it off by shooting into the air. Ilhas also showed footage of the lion strolling outside homes before disappearing into scrubland.

Kir was hospitalized with wounds to his head, shoulder and legs. Police teams and drones found the lion in a nearby wooded area.

Land of Lions’ website boasts that the park holds “the world’s largest lion family” of more than 30 animals. It also contains tigers, bears and wolves.

It wasn’t clear how the lion escaped but an investigation has been launched. The zoo did not comment on Sunday.

The Associated Press