Man critically injured after tiger attack at Bronx Zoo
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By ARUN KRISTIAN DAS, Web Producer -
By LUKE FUNK, Senior Web Producer -
In this Aug. 30, 2012 photo provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society, Katharina, an Amur tiger, and her three new cubs recline in the shade at the Bronx Zoo’s Tiger Mountain exhibit in New York. (AP Photo/WCS, Julie Larsen Maher)
A man deliberately jumped off the Bronx Zoo Wild Asia Monorail, clearing two fences, and ended up in a habitat where he was mauled by a tiger Friday afternoon, the NYPD said.
The man broke his arm and ankle in the fall, and the tiger tore into the man's torso, police said.
Zoo staff used a fire extinguisher to stop the tiger's attack, according to the director.
"Once the tiger backed off, the man was instructed to roll under a hot wire to safety," Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny said in a statement. "The keepers were able to call the tiger into its off exhibit holding area and safely secured the animal. ... 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."
Medics rushed David Villalobos, 25, to Jacobi Hospital where he was listed in critical condition, authorities said.
The 11-year-old tiger did "nothing wrong," Breheny said at a news conference Friday night. The animal was in an area that can only be seen from the monorail and is not viewable to the public from the ground.
Three Amur cubs were born at the zoo in May. They and three young Malayan tiger cubs are on display at Tiger Mountain, which is a separate exhibit from the monorail habitats.
The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the Bronx Zoo as well as several other animal parks in New York City, works to protect tigers and their habitats in nine countries in Asia.
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In this Aug. 30, 2012 photo provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society, Katharina, an Amur tiger, and her three new cubs recline in the shade at the Bronx Zoo’s Tiger Mountain exhibit in New York. (AP Photo/WCS, Julie Larsen Maher)
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