by Jim Fitzgerald
A visitor to the Bronx Zoo leaped from an elevated monorail train on Friday, plummeted over a fence into an exhibit and was mauled by a tiger, police and zoo officials said. The man was alone with the 400-pound beast for about 10 minutes before being rescued, zoo officials said. He suffered bites and punctures on his arms, legs, shoulders and back and broke an arm and a leg.
The
attack happened at around 3 p.m. in the Wild Asia exhibit, where a
train with open sides takes visitors over the Bronx River and through a
forest, where they glide along the top edge of a fence, past elephants,
deer and a tiger enclosure.
Passengers
aren't strapped in on the ride, and the 25-year-old man apparently
jumped out of his train car, with a leap powerful enough to clear the perimeter fence.
The
man was attacked by an 11-year-old male tiger that has been at the zoo
for three years. The zoo's staff used a fire extinguisher to chase the
tiger off, and the man was instructed to roll under an electrified wire
to get to safety, zoo director Jim Breheny
said. Zookeepers then called the tiger into a holding area.
The man was conscious and talking after the mauling, Breheny said.
"If
not for the quick response by our staff and their ability to perform
well in emergency situations, the outcome would have been very
different," he said.
Police said the man was hospitalized in critical condition.
The Bronx Zoo
,
one of the nation's largest, sprawls over 265 acres and contains
hundreds of animals, many in habitats meant to resemble natural
settings. Its exhibits include Tiger Mountain, Congo Gorilla Forest and World of Reptiles.
The
tiger did nothing wrong and will not be euthanized, zoo officials said.
It was back in a holding area where it usually sleeps at night.
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