This Russian zookeeper was caught between a rock and a real hard place.
A Siberian tiger pinned the handler who was bringing it food, biting and clawing at her.
The woman was only saved when quick-thinking onlookers shouted and threw stones at the beast until it backed off.
The big cat sprang on the woman as she brought food to the animal – but her life was saved by the shocked onlookers who shouted and threw stones at the beast.
Men even lifted a table and chairs from a nearby cafe, hurling them over the fence to distract the 15 year old male tiger called Taifun, or Typhoon.
The unnamed woman zookeeper from Kaliningrad in Russia was badly mauled but was rushed to hospital is expected to survive.
Alarming pictures show the woman on the back on the ground with the tiger on top of her seemingly going for the kill.
But at this point, the zoo visitors’ screams, shouts, stone-throwing and chucking anything they could lay their hands on distracted the menacing creature – a big cat that has never previously attacked a keeper.
The commotion alerted other visitors who ran to join the hero onlookers saving the woman who was able to run to a secure part of the compound.
“The girl’s face face was bleeding,” said one account based on the accounts of witnesses.
“She screamed and tried to fight off the animal.”
Other zoo employees were not present at the moment of the surprise attack, and it was down to the Russian visitors to save the keeper.
The Siberian tiger – the largest cat in the world – was supposed to be contained in another part of its compound when the woman brought its food.
But there was clearly a problem and the cat – described as ‘elderly’ – was able to attack.
A spokesman praised the visitors.
“The animal entered the enclosure when the keeper was there,” said a statement.
“The tiger attacked the human.
“Visitors with their shouting, stones and other improvisation managed to distract the animal.
“This allowed the zoo employee to hide in a back room.”
It was even visitors who called an ambulance.
Later zoo staff arrived at the scene and shot a sedative into the tiger.
A local health ministry spokesma
The big cat, named Typhoon, sprang on the unidentified keeper at the Kaliningrad Zoo in Russia Saturday because its cage door had been accidentally left open.
Shocking photos show the tiger gnawing on the young woman as she lies on her back screaming in terror. The attack happened near a fence mere feet from where zoo visitors had been taking photos of the beast.
Besides throwing rocks, some men managed to lift a table and chairs from a nearby café and hurl them over the fence to distract the tiger while the keeper crawled away to safety.
The zookeeper was badly mauled. She was rushed to the hospital and is expected to survive.
“The girl’s face was bleeding,” one witness said. “She screamed and tried to fight off the animal.”
The Siberian tiger, the largest cat in the world, was supposed to be contained in another part of its compound when the woman brought in a hunk of meat for dinner. No other zoo employees were present inside the cage at the time.
The big cat sprang on the woman as she brought food to the animal – but her life was saved by the shocked onlookers who shouted and threw stones at the beast.
Men even lifted a table and chairs from a nearby cafe, hurling them over the fence to distract the 15 year old male tiger called Taifun, or Typhoon.
The unnamed woman zookeeper from Kaliningrad in Russia was badly mauled but was rushed to hospital is expected to survive.
Alarming pictures show the woman on the back on the ground with the tiger on top of her seemingly going for the kill.
But at this point, the zoo visitors’ screams, shouts, stone-throwing and chucking anything they could lay their hands on distracted the menacing creature – a big cat that has never previously attacked a keeper.
The commotion alerted other visitors who ran to join the hero onlookers saving the woman who was able to run to a secure part of the compound.
“The girl’s face face was bleeding,” said one account based on the accounts of witnesses.
“She screamed and tried to fight off the animal.”
Other zoo employees were not present at the moment of the surprise attack, and it was down to the Russian visitors to save the keeper.
The Siberian tiger – the largest cat in the world – was supposed to be contained in another part of its compound when the woman brought its food.
But there was clearly a problem and the cat – described as ‘elderly’ – was able to attack.
A spokesman praised the visitors.
“The animal entered the enclosure when the keeper was there,” said a statement.
“The tiger attacked the human.
“Visitors with their shouting, stones and other improvisation managed to distract the animal.
“This allowed the zoo employee to hide in a back room.”
It was even visitors who called an ambulance.
Later zoo staff arrived at the scene and shot a sedative into the tiger.
A local health ministry spokesma
In a statement, the zoo praised the visitors who saved the employee’s life.
“The animal entered the enclosure when the keeper was there. The tiger attacked the human,” the statement read.
“Visitors with their shouting, stones and other improvisation managed to distract the animal. This allowed the zoo employee to hide in a back room.”