Zookeeper mauled to death at Chinese animal centre which sold ‘tiger wine’
Fatal attack by tiger is latest scandal to hit wildlife park that has been repeatedly accused of selling elixirs made using animal parts
A zookeeper was reportedly killed by a tiger at a controversial wildlife centre in southern China accused of selling “tiger wine”.
The man, who was aged around 50, went to clean a tiger enclosure with a colleague at the Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Mountain Village in Guilin, a city in the Guangxi autonomous region on Tuesday morning, according to China National Radio.
His colleague left the man, who has not been named, alone in the enclosure at around 11am. His body was found at around 2.30pm and his family were told later that day that he had been mauled by a tiger.
Family members told the radio station that they went to the park on Wednesday demanding compensation and, above all, an explanation as to how he had died as they had not been given any evidence to back up the zoo’s claims.
The man’s nephew, surnamed Zhuge, questioned the zoo’s account of how his uncle had been killed, saying: “Did he die from inaction? Was he dead when he was discovered? Why was he not taken to hospital immediately?”