Tiger kills man in Delhi zoo after silently watching him for 15 minutes In a hair-raising incident, witnessed by scores and captured live on many cameras, a 200kg white tiger mauled and killed a youth after he fell into the animals moat in the Delhi zoo. The incident, which took place between 12.30pm and 1pm, created a sensation and word soon spread through the city, with photos and video of the tiger — one of the zoos star attractions — dragging the youth going viral. Eyewitnesses and zoo officials said the young man, who was later identified as Maksood, 20, a resident of Anand Parbat in Delhi, had crossed the stand-off barrier of the white tigers enclosure and then fell or jumped into the moat which separated the enclosure from the visitors gallery. The majestic six-foot, seven-year-old tiger, named Vijay, which was some distance away, saw the man in the concrete moat, that was covered with dry leaves, and bounded up to him.Footages showed the tiger glowering face to face at the man, as it initially appeared to be surprised on seeing the sudden human intrusion into its habitat. As soon as the youth fell into the moat, the tiger approached him and silently watched him for nearly 15 minutes. Bittoo, an eyewitness, who recorded the entire incident on his mobile, told media persons. He said what possibly provoked the tiger to attack the man was when onlookers and a guard tried to divert its attention by pelting stones at it. Everyone was pelting stones and making noises to divert the tigers attention, Bittoo added. It was then that the tiger pounced on the youth with his paw and dragged him inside his enclosure by his neck, Bittoo told IANS. The tiger then dropped the limp body at the far end of the enclosure. Another eyewitness Himanshu said: The man was cowering in fear and appeared to be pleading with folded hands to the tiger to spare him. Some eyewitnesses said it was not clear whether the man was drunk or he was clicking photos of the tiger when he accidently fell from the cemented fencing. Delhi Police official said post mortem report will reveal whether the man was drunk and fell accidently or jumped knowingly. Police is also investigating why the man came alone to the zoo. A statement by Amitabh Agnihotri, the zoo director, said: An unfortunate incident occurred in the National Zoological Park around 1pm when a male visitor named Maksood, son of Mehfooz, resident of Gali No. 11, Anand Parvat, aged 20 years crossed the stand off barrier of the white tigers enclosure ... and jumped into the enclosure. The space where the white tiger stays comprises of a moat, a natural space for the animal to roam around and a concrete enclosure. Praveen, guard posted at the enclosure, sounded the alarm and collected his supervisor and other staff of the zoo by sending wireless SOS message. Praveen along with other staff of the zoo tried to divert the attention of the tiger from the visitor but to no avail. The tiger mauled the visitor. The ambulance and police were called immediately. Preliminary probe shows that a bite on the neck led to Maqsoods death after which the tiger mauled the visitor who died on the spot. National Zoological Park curator RA Khan told IANS that the youth himself jumped into the tigers enclosure. The tiger was later locked up. Not a maneater, but the tiger will be kept under observation and medically examined, Khan said. Suparna Ganguly, founder trustee of Bangalore-based Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, an NGO for animal rehabilitation, said the tiger was not at fault. We get to see a lot of hooliganism among zoo visitors. People misbehave, disturb and harass the animals who have already been deprived of their natural habitat. Belinda Wright, who has spent years working to protect India’s decreasing tiger numbers, wasn’t surprised, according to ABC News. “The tiger was just being a tiger. An unusual object fell into his domain… he’s a wild animal in captivity. It’s certainly not the tiger’s fault.” Better rescue drill could have saved life The zoo authorities could have taken several steps to save Maqsoods life during the 10 minutes that he sat cowering in the moat in front of the tiger. A Central Zoo Authority (CZA) official said that the animal could have been kept at bay by spraying water. Maqsood could also have been pulled out with a collapsible ladder, he suggested. Zoo keepers could have distracted the animal, but senior officials who could have given the orders came to the scene only after 15 minutes, eyewitnesses said. Then again, had the moat, which acts as a barrier, been full of water it might have given Maqsood a minute or two to plot an escape. The zoo could have arranged for a tranquillizer gun to sedate the tiger. No protocol in place to respond in emergency. T.O.I 24/9/2014
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 19:19:38 +0000
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