Accra Zoo Death: Intruder May Have Had Psychotic Disorder - Psychologist On Why Man Will Enter Lion’s Den

Head of Psychology at the University of Ghana, Professor Joseph Osafo, has expressed shock over reports of an unnamed man who literally attempted to live among lions at the Accra Zoo, but met his untimely death in the process.

The man is said to have intruded on the enclosure of lions at the zoo and was found dead on Sunday, August 28th by the officials of the zoo.

The motive for the man's encroachment remains unknown.

Commenting on the issue during Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme, Prof. Joseph Osafo, in an attempt to explain the deceased's motive for entering the confines of the lions, opined that he may have done so for one of two reasons.

To him, it is either for business or he entered the den because he is mentally unstable.

"My first thinking aloud was maybe the man was just daring. Maybe he had a business proposal from someone to provide a cub for money and looking at the hardships in the country, you know human behavior is such that when people are desperate, they can do anything that can even jeopardize their life. The second one is that most likely this man might have had a mental health problem or psychotic disorder [delusion] for him to have done that . . . So, it's a distortion of reality," he said.

He added that the man might have been hallucinating, hence seeing the lions as less dangerous to attack him.

"Maybe if the man is deranged, he saw the lion as a lamb," he stated.