Video China World Entertainment Sports Lifestyle  
 

1 dead, 1 injured in wild tiger attack

By Zhang Rui
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, July 25, 2016
Adjust font size:

A woman was mauled to death and another injured by a Siberian tiger after they stepped out of their vehicle in a wildlife park in Beijing on Saturday.

Screen shots of China Central Television show the two tourists being attacked by a Siberian tiger in Badaling Wildlife World in Beijing, July 23, 2016.

 

The striking images from a monitor installed at the park showed that one young woman stepped out of a car while touring the Badaling Wildlife World to talk to the driver. Then a tiger captured her from behind. The driver and an elderly woman ran out of the car to rescue her.

The tragedy ended with one dead and one injured, said the local government of Beijing's Yanqing District. The young woman, in her 30s, was rushed to a hospital and survived after surgery on Sunday morning as she was severely injured in multiple places. The elderly woman, 57, was her mother who was attacked by another tiger when she tried to rescue her daughter. She died on site.

There was a little child in the car. Fortunately, he was unharmed.

A family member said yesterday that the young woman is still in the intensive care unit.

Covering an area of 400 hectares and having about 10,000 wild animals, Badaling Wildlife World, located in the northern outskirts of Beijing, has been temporarily closed after the incident, said the local government.

Visitors are allowed to drive their own car to tour the park, but they have to sign an agreement which asks them to close the door and window in case the wild animals attack, not to feed wild animals and not to get out of their cars. There are many warning signs in the park asking visitors not to get out of their cars. But some disobey the rule.

"The agreement made it clear that if anyone disobeyed the rule and got hurt, or if their cars were damaged, the visitors should shoulder the responsibility and consequences," said Wang Shuqin, a local government spokesman.

In the released video footage, after the young woman was dragged away by the tiger, a jeep also came to the rescue. "That is the security assurance patrol car of the park," Wang said, "Before she got out of the car, the staff members in the jeep had used the loudspeaker to warn her not to do it. But she ignored the warning and still stepped out."

A friend of the injured woman's husband said to Beijing Youth Daily that the woman didn't know they are still in the wild tiger area of the park, saying, "She thought they had already gotten out of the wild area, so she got out of the car."

The husband was so sad and didn't want to talk about why his wife got out of the car, but he said he would clarify some details later. A family friend added that the woman didn't get out of the car for quarreling with her husband as some media reports suggested, "That was not true. The couple had a very good relationship."

The incident sparked internet debates. While some sent their sympathies, others are angry with the woman's behavior of disobeying the rule. "She asked for it. Now it cost her and her mother's life and also cost the park and the tigers. I care more about how they will treat the innocent tiger as this behavior represents its natural instinct," one internet user wrote.

An official of the park dismissed a rumor that tigers invloved in the incident were killed. "That's not true," he said to Beijing-based Metro Reader News, he said they will wait for the investigation conclusion and then decide how to deal with the tigers.

The Yanqing District government said that several relevant departments have formed a united team to continue the investigation of the incident.

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Enter the words you see:   
    Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter