Sad thing is, this kind of thing has happened before:
Darwin Awards
(2 January 1996, India) A tiger killed one man and mauled another at the Calcutta zoo yesterday when they tried to put a marigold garland around its neck in a New Year’s greeting.
Prakesh Tiwari, the dead man, and Suresh Rai had been drinking before they bought the floral garlands and crossed the moat around the tiger’s enclosure, authorities said. “I was shocked to see the two young men weaving about in front of a tiger with garlands in their hands, “ said Rakesh Banerjee, who witnessed the attack that triggered panic and a near stampede in the zoo.
The men, both in their 20’s, were trying to put the garland on a 13-year old male Royal Bengal tiger named “Shiva” after the Hindu god of destruction. When Rai threw the garland around Shiva’s neck, the tiger attacked him. His friend Tiwari intervened, kicking the tiger in the face. The tiger released Rai, and attacked and killed Tiwari.
“I saw it all; the tiger turned and jumped on the other young man and put its head on the man’s neck, and within moments, the man was apparently dead, his head dangling,” Banerjee said.
The two were reportedly devotees of the goddess Durga and had gone to “worship” the tiger. Immediately after the incident, an angry crowd went on a stone-pelting spree in which two children and a woman were injured.
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So, this thing may have been a cultural thing. You just never know with this kind of stupidity.
Check this Video of a guy that climbed in a lion exhibit and preached to the lions. Stupid and lucky... he lived.