A man was mauled to death by a group of Siberian tigers after he and his son walked into the animals' enclosure in a wildlife park in Shaanxi on Sunday, mainland media reported yesterday.
The zookeeper in charge of the tiger enclosure at Xian's Qinling Wildlife Park has been detained by police for failing to close the gates before the father and son entered the enclosure, the China News Service reported.
The enclosure's gates are only supposed to be opened for tourist buses. Police said the father and son had wandered into the area because the zookeeper failed to close the gates immediately after a tourist bus passed through them at about 1pm on Sunday.
The 45-year-old man was found dead with bites on his neck. He was believed to have bled to death.
His 17-year-old son, who was attacked by three tigers, was rescued by zoo workers in two rescue vehicles.
'The boy was numb with shock,' one member of the rescue team told the Modern Express.
The boy told the newspaper that he had gone to the wildlife park with his father after finishing the university entrance exams.