THIS is the horrifying moment a teen broke into a lion closure at a Brazilian Zoo – before meeting a tragic end.
Gerson Machado, 19, had previously tried to reach Africa as a plane stowaway to pursue his dream of training big cats.
Alarming footage shows the moment the lioness – who zoo vets later described as “stressed” and “in shock” – pounced as he reached the ground.
Gerson, who grew up in care and battled serious mental health issues, had spent years telling social workers about his dream of living among Africa’s big cats.
Child protection worker Veronica Oliveira, who supported him for eight years, said he endured a childhood marked by extreme poverty and a family history of mental illness.
She said: “Gerson was a child who suffered violations of his rights.
“He was the son of a mother with schizophrenia, with grandparents who also had mental health issues.”
She recalled the day he was caught inside the airport’s restricted area, saying: “You told me you were going to take a plane to go on safari to Africa to look after lions.
“I thanked God when I was warned by the airport that you had cut the fence and got inside the landing gear compartment of a Gol Airlines plane.
“I thanked God because they saw on the cameras that there was a teenager there before a tragedy happened.
“Gerson’s story is that of a boy who just wanted to get to know Africa to tame lions.
“He discovered too late that a lion isn’t a domestic cat and that we can’t tame them without the right knowledge.
“Sadly he wasn’t sensible enough for that.”
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