5 arrested for entering boar enclosure in Vizag Zoo for Instagram video | Watch

Five men were arrested for entering a wild boar enclosure in Vizag Zoo (Image credit: ANI/Twitter)

Five men were arrested in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam on Friday night for entering a wild boar enclosure in the city zoo. The men, all aged between 19 to 21 years, reportedly entered the enclosure and began teasing animals for the purpose of creating an Instagram video and increasing their follower count on social media.

Footage shared on Twitter shows how the five accused jumped over the guard rail to enter the enclosure at Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, also known as the Vizag Zoo. One boar charged straight at the men and knocked one of them down. He was then seen scaling the enclosure wall to get out.

5 youth arrested under Wildlife Protection Act for this #Instagram#reelsvideo where they are provoking wild boars at Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in #Visakhapatnam, #AndhraPradesh. All aged between 19-21. They told cops they did it "just for fun." pic.twitter.com/oM8O0xJ4kq

— Krishnamurthy (@krishna0302) July 30, 2022

According to The Hindu, the incident occurred on July 3 but only came to light on July 9, when police found the video tagged to the zoo’s social media account.

The Arilova police then arrested the five accused under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The accused are all residents of Marikavalasa in Visakhapatnam.

Zoo Curator Nandani Salaria addressed a press conference on Saturday, informing that the youth teased and chased the wild boar during the incident that spanned a few minutes.

Andhra Pradesh | Police arrested a group of around 5 youth on July 29, who entered the paddock of a wild boar enclosure in the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Visakhapatnam, to record a video & later upload it on social media: Zoo Curator Nandani Salaria (30.07) pic.twitter.com/m3k7g7UG7m — ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2022

A notice has been sent to the agency to which zoo security is outsourced, said Salaria. She added that the keeper of the enclosure could have been on the other side, cutting feed, or inside the night house when the youth entered.