User:Dragonclaws/Lion guy

This is a "weird news" piece originally posted at The Daily Record, a Scottish news site. I had posted it on a message board for laughs, so the text has survived even though it seems that the original article has been consumed.

CHRISTIAN THROWS HIMSELF TO THE LIONS Nov 4 2004
Bizarre stunt to taunt beasts

By Karen Bale

A DERANGED man who jumped into a lions' den yesterday narrowly escaped death.

Zoo workers managed to rescue the man, who shouted at two lions: 'Jesus will save you.'

He then raised his arms and shouted at the animals: 'Come and bite me.'

The 46-year-old man's bizarre stunt at the zoo in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, was captured on security video.

The man, identified only by his surname, Chen, had his jacket ripped off by one of the lions.

Chen fell back without panicking on a stone ridge and the lion, a large male, then jumped at him, biting him on the arm.

The lion clawed and bit at his legs before retreating.

As Chen stood again with his arms outstretched, shouting: 'Jesus will save you,' zoo workers drove the lions away with water hoses and shot them with tranquiliser darts.

Chen then picked up his jacket and climbed out of the pen. He was taken to hospital for tests.

Dr Wang Yao-Ching said: 'He had bite marks both at the front and back of his leg.'

Psychiatrist Teng Hui-Wen said the case was being investigated, but added: 'Chen took this dangerous action because he imagined he heard voices.'

Newspapers said if the lions had not been fed earlier in the day, Chen might have been killed.