Siberian tiger attacks, mauls keeper at Russian zoo, visitors scare it away

New Delhi: While instances of tigers attacking people or getting aggressive at different zoos around the world weren't uncommon, reports of a new incident has surfaced.

According to reports, a Siberian tiger attacked and mauled a young zookeeper at a Russian zoo in full view of visitors.

The big cat, called Typhoon, pounced upon the female keeper as she was trying to feed it at Kaliningrad Zoo, after its cage was accidentally left open while she brought the food to the animal.

Onlookers immediately began to throw stones at the tiger to distract it and give the keeper a chance to escape.

Some men even lifted a table and chairs from a nearby cafe, hurling them over the fence to distract the predator so the keeper could escape, as per a Daily Mail report.

The woman was badly mauled and was immediately rushed to the hospital. She is expected to survive.

Typhoon has apparently never attacked a keeper in the past, but horrifying images show the woman on her back on the ground with the tiger on top of her, seemingly about to go in for the kill.

'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.'

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, the Daily Mail report said.

Zoo staff arrived at the scene later on and shot the tiger with a sedative.

The tiger was reported to be 'stressed' after the attack, but will not be destroyed despite tasting human blood, said Russian zoo officials.

The zoo issued a statement saying that, 'The animal, which also suffered a lot of stress, is in its enclosure.'

'No measures will be taken against him. The predator is not being blamed for its attack on the keeper.'

A spokesman said: 'The Siberian tiger is a territorial animal. Protecting its territory is its natural instinct.

'This animal acted in full accordance with its instinct. It was not aggression. It was the defence of its territory.'

The Siberian tiger was born on 1 JulyJuly 01, 2001 in Chelyabinsk Zoo and was later moved to Kaliningrad Zoo. He turned 16 this year, the report said.