MNN - Mother Nature Network

A man jumped off the Bronx Zoo monorail and into the tiger enclosure, where he was savagely attacked and left in critical condition, officials in New York said.

 

After he landed in the habitat, the 25-year-old man was attacked and mauled by a 12-year-old male tiger, New York Police Department spokesman Lieutenant Don Grimpel told AFP on Friday.

 

"He has a broken arm, a broken leg and puncture wounds to his leg," Grimpel added.

The man was not immediately identified.

 

New York Fire Department spokesman Frank Dwyer said the man, who was "critically injured" during the incident, was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx borough of New York City.

 

Zoo director Jim Breheny said staff used a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher to move the tiger away from the visitor.

 

"Once the tiger backed off, the man was instructed to roll under a hot wire to safety," he said in a statement.

 

"The keepers were able to call the tiger into its off exhibit holding area and safely secured the animal."

 

Breheny said the man was conscious and talking.

 

Sounding a cautionary note, the zoo director added: "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."

 

Copyright 2012  AFP American Edition