Reports vary as to what he was thinking but the end of the day a man identified only as Maqsood is dead at the paws of a tiger.
Varying reports about the tiger attack
Zoo manager Riaz Khan said the man “leapt over the railing into the tiger enclosure” but the Times of India used both the words “tumbled” and “slipped” in describing the incident while suggesting that the railing was very low.
“All the enclosures of the National Zoological Park are absolutely safe. No visitor can reach the moat wall of the enclosure without the stand off barrier. The visitor crossed the stand off barrier and ultimately jumped into the enclosure which lead to his death by the tiger,” the zoo said in a statement.
Whatever the case, when you fall eighteen feet it’s terrifically difficult to climb back up at and tigers like meat. According to witnesses the man cowered before the tiger for 15 minutes while at the same time pleading with the animal to spare his life. While police responded quickly according to reports and zoo-goers were happy to throw sticks and stones at the tiger in an effort to distract the animal and change its focus, ultimately the tiger pounced and dragged the man away by his throat.
There are also varying reports as to the amount of suffering the man was forced to endure with the Wall Street Journal quoting a zoo director as saying he “died on the spot” but the BBC quoted a witness as saying that the man “was writhing in pain … [and] suffered for the next 10 to 15 minutes.”
History of mental illness
The victim’s parents after being contacted the about the incident told police that their son had been treated for mental illness in the past.
India is the world’s leader in animal deaths each year with around 7,000 people killed each year, though the majority of these come as a result of snake bites.
For those, like me, concerned about the tiger, who at the end of the day did nothing non-instinctual it’s in good hands.
“The tiger was later locked up. The tiger will be kept under observation and medically examined,” said a zoo official.
