A man has died after being attacked and mauled by an ambush of tigers after climbing into the big cat enclosure at Ningbo Younger Zoo, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, according to reports.
Witnesses said the zoo visitor climbed over the fence and began walking towards the tigers as they were feeding.
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Tourists, including the victim’s own family, looked on in horror and the man was set upon by the big cats, and a video of the event shows the man being pinned to the ground by the animals as one of the tigers seems to have its jaw locked around the man’s head and neck.
He can be seen desperately kicking his legs as another tiger approaches and joins the attack.
Reports say the man then lay motionless and was dragged further into the cat’s lair by his foot.
The zoo keepers tried to use firecrackers to try to scare the tigers away from the man, as can be seen in the video.
After the firecrackers failed to frighten them away from the body, one of the tigers was reportedly shot dead before the zoo keepers were able to retrieve the man from the enclosure and take him to the hospital.
The attack was said to last for over an hour before the man’s body was retrieved, and although his condition is unclear, many, including the South China Morning Post, are reporting that the man had died from his injuries.
One eyewitness told the South China Morning Post:
“I saw the tiger mauling the person, whose face was covered with blood.
“Every time he sat up, the tiger pushed him down again.”
The zoo was evacuated after the incident and the man has not yet been identified.
