Zookeeper Will Live In Lion Cage, Safety Not One Of His Concerns

Ukrainian zookeeper Alexander Pylyshenko is either incredibly brave, incredibly naive, or perhaps a little of both. Pylyshenko plans to spend 35 days living inside a zoo’s lion enclosure in a cage with a breeding pair of the animals. While Pylyshenko gets along well with the friendly lions now, living with them around the clock may be a different matter, particularly because the female is due to give birth during his five week stay in the cage. Pylyshenko is undeterred by the inherent danger of being in such close quarters with two wild animals.

Pylyshenko is the owner of the private zoo in the Ukranian city of Vasylivka. He intends to live like the lions do, sleeping on the floor and eating the meat that is fed to the lions through the cage bars. However, he has had a toilet and shower installed in the cage for his personal use. He can not use any scented soaps or deodorants during his time in the cage though, because lions are very sensitive to strong smells.

Despite the unconventional living arrangements, and the potential danger of being in the cage when the lioness gives birth, Pylyshenko intends to go forth with his plan to raise awareness about the state of lions in captivity. One way he will do this is by painting portraits of the lions to sell and raise money for charity.

The entire 35-day experience will also be recorded using four webcams, footage from which will be posted online. Here’s to hoping that Pylyshenko’s bravery and dedication to helping the lions pays off in the end, and he doesn’t have to pay any negative price for the trust he is placing in the animals to cohabitate with him peacefully.

(via Oddity Central)