A zookeeper is reportedly brutally bitten to death by an angry hippo mother while trying to feed her calf

A 54-year-old zookeeper in India reportedly died on Sunday after being brutally attacked by an angry hippopotamus at the zoo.

Santosh Kumar Mahto was attacked by the animal at Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park in Ranchi when he went into the hippo enclosure to take out a newborn calf for feeding, The Indian Express reported.

The protective hippo mother attacked Mahto and seriously injured him.

“Unfortunately, the zookeeper succumbed to his injuries in a private hospital here on Sunday,” zoo director Jabbar Singh told the outlet. “The hospital costs were borne by the zoo management.”

“We will also try to find a job for a member of his family,” Singh added.

The horrific incident angered the remaining 112 zookeepers and they closed the park’s main gates in protest to the authorities, the Express reported.

According to the Times of India, Mahto suffered numerous injuries in the attack, including several of his limbs being crushed by the hippo.

In December, an employee of another Indian zoo was attacked and killed by a hippopotamus.

In that incident, a 40-year-old keeper at the Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Gardens in Uttar Pradesh entered the animals’ enclosure to clean it and was fatally attacked.

According to zoo officials, the hippo was locked behind a gate during cleaning operations, but somehow managed to free itself and attacked the employee, killing him.

A second worker was injured in the attack but survived.