moat at an Indian zoo.
The man, named locally as Maqsood, is said to have been under the influence of
alcohol when he climbed into the white tiger enclosure at New Delhi Zoo on
Tuesday.
Witnesses say the 22-year-old entered the enclosure despite several attempts by
zoo security to keep him from the tigers.
enclosure at National Zoological Park in New Delhi
Once the man had jumped into the enclosure, the tiger grabbed him by the neck
as terrified onlookers began throwing sticks and stones at the animal to try to
save him.
Photos posted online of the attack show the tiger standing over the victim, who
can be seen curled into a ball, trying to protect his head with his hands.
A witness said he raced to the enclosure after hearing screams, to see the
victim locked in the tiger's jaws, ‘writhing badly in pain’.
‘Around 1.30pm, when we were in the reptiles area, we heard very loud
screams,’ the witness told CNN-IBN news channel.
‘We saw that a white tiger had caught a boy by his neck and he was writhing
badly in pain. He kept suffering for the next 10-15 minutes but nobody helped
him.’
Attack: A screenshot from Indian television show the white tiger standing over
the man after he jumped into its enclosure at the New Delhi Zoo
The zoo remained open Tuesday afternoon, though authorities eventually roped
off the tiger enclosure.
White tigers are found in southern and eastern Asia, particularly India, and
owe their appearance to a recessive gene. They are regarded as an endangered
species.
India is home to 1,706 Royal Bengal tigers and fewer than 100 white tigers,
according to the last census in 2011. All the white tigers are in captivity.
Rampant poaching and loss of habitat due to human encroachment are cited as
the major challenges to tiger conservation efforts.
No comments:
Post a Comment