Overview
- Sameeksha Reddy, 27, who was attacked late Thursday, March 19, while checking a pregnant hippo’s temperature with a thermal camera, died at a hospital the next morning.
- Karnataka’s forest minister told the Assembly on Tuesday that the government will build a memorial after Reddy’s family declined the Rs 30 lakh relief payment.
- He said a high-level inquiry is underway, ordered a report within seven days, and directed officials to create written Standard Operating Procedures for zoo veterinary work.
- Supervisors said Reddy was not assigned to the hippo that night, and the executive director said it was unclear who, if anyone, asked her to enter the enclosure.
- Accounts differ on the exact sequence inside the pen, with several reports saying she fell from a ladder as the hippo advanced; officials noted the animal was near term and had stayed in the pond and skipped meals in the days before the attack.