Tiger that mauled man at NY zoo 'did nothing wrong'

A Siberian tiger critically injured a man who jumped into the big cat’s den at New York’s Bronx Zoo.

The zoo visitor, 25, was riding the zoo’s elevated monorail when he leapt from it into the tiger enclosure on Friday. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition, which was later upgraded to stable, a spokeswoman for the Jacobi Medical Centre said.

Officials said the man received bites or puncture wounds on his arms, legs and shoulder during the 10 minutes he was alone with the tiger.

“One leg was severely injured,” said an official.

Zoo staff used a fire extinguisher to repel the tiger, then ordered the man to roll under an electrified perimeter wire to safety.

The staff had been prepared to use deadly force if necessary, zoo director Jim Breheny said. The tiger involved is an 11-year-old, 180kg male named Bachuta, Breheny added.

The director said officials at the zoo would review the incident but they would not put the tiger down or take Bachuta out of the exhibit.

Breheny said the incident was “an extraordinary event that happened because somebody was trying to endanger themselves”.

“The tiger did nothing wrong in this case at all,”

he said.

“When someone deliberately tries to endanger themselves it is very hard to stop that.”