Tiger mauls Assam zoo visitor to death

From correspondents in Assam, India, 08:05 PM IST

A 50-year-old man was mauled to death by a Royal Bengal tiger Wednesday at a zoo in Assam while he was trying to take photographs with his mobile telephone, wildlife officials said.

A wildlife authority spokesman said a family of four, including the victim’s wife and two children, were visiting the zoo in Assam’s main city of Guwahati when the incident took place.

‘The person crossed over a barricade and went near an iron cage to take photographs using his cell phone. There were two tigers and one of them pounced and tore apart his hand… the other tiger also attacked him,’ Narayan Mahanta, the zoo warden, told IANS.

The person was shifted to hospital and was declared brought dead by doctors.

‘It was an unfortunate accident and probably was a result of carelessness on the part of the man to have crossed the barricade,’ the zoo official said.

In another incident, wildlife officials tranquillised a leopard in the heart of Guwahati after the cat was reported to have been roaming the streets.

‘The leopard in the last few days attacked and killed several goats and chicken in the area and was creating terror in the area. We have captured the animal and now shifted it to the zoo,’ a wildlife official said.

http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20071219/87129.htm

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