Man tries to enter National Zoo lions’ den

WASHINGTON — A man is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation after he tried to get into the lions’ den at the National Zoo Wednesday afternoon.

The man was trying to climb a fence near the exhibit when zoo police found him Wednesday afternoon.

The zoo says he made it over one barrier, but never actually made it into the lions’ den.

The National Zoo says the D.C. police took the man into custody and took him to a psychiatric emergency facility.

In 1995, a 36-year-old woman from Arkansas, did make it all the way into the lions’ den. National Zoo employees found her mauled body early the next morning. The D.C. Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled it to be a suicide.

WTOP’s Lori Lundin contributed to this report.

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