Staff Fatality Highlights Lack of Safety Protocols in Indian Zoos

During a routine grass-cutting operation on September 2 at Jaipur's Nahargarh Biological Park, the tiger Shivaji left its isolation pen and attacked the workers, killing Sugna Devi while the others escaped. The tragedy was linked to a communication lapse when the guard responsible for opening the gates was on leave and did not brief her substitute about the Tuesday-Wednesday grass-cutting schedule. Bhuvan M, a conservationist, has recorded 17 incidents of zoo staff injuries or deaths nationwide between 2012 and 2026, including fatalities involving a king cobra, a hippopotamus, a sambar deer, and a suspected head injury to a vet.

He filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court demanding comprehensive safety standards for zoo personnel. The Central Zoo Authority responded that it lacks any staff-specific safety one outlet document and pointed to its general zoo-management guidelines, while a government-formed expert committee has yet to finalize recommended SOPs. Experts cited in the report argue that inadequate training, absence of isolation mechanisms, and missing emergency response resources exacerbate the risk to workers.