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Video footage shows circus handlers using sticks to try to coax the tiger back inside the cage after it escaped on Friday night. Photo: Thepaper.cn

Circus tiger escapes during show in China, but dies after being captured and sent to zoo

  • Two people from the circus have been detained after the animal managed to get out of its cage and run towards nearby cornfields on Friday evening
  • It was found the next morning and police used a tranquilliser to subdue the tiger but it died on the way to the zoo, which believes it had been hit by a car

A circus tiger that escaped from its cage during a show in central China was captured by police after an overnight search, but died while it was being transported to a nearby zoo, according to media reports.

Two people from the circus where the tiger was raised in the county of Yuanyang, Henan province, have been detained, Beijing Youth Daily reported, without elaborating. It said the tiger escaped during the circus’ first public show, which had not been registered with the local authorities.

The tiger was part of a performance for a local school on Friday evening when it managed to get out of its cage and run towards nearby cornfields.

A video posted by news site Thepaper.cn shows the moment it escaped from the cage, with its handlers using sticks to try to coax the animal back inside. The scene is chaotic, as people scream and run from the venue.

A tranquilliser dart was used to subdue the tiger on Saturday morning and it was transported to a zoo in Xinxiang. Photo: Thepaper.cn

The police were called in, and officers used drones, police dogs and thermal imaging equipment to hunt for the tiger, according to the local government.

The authorities also put out an emergency advisory telling residents to stay indoors and contact police if they had any information on the tiger’s whereabouts.

It was spotted the following morning, and a tranquilliser dart was used to subdue the animal at about 10.30am on Saturday. The tiger was then transported to a zoo in the city of Xinxiang.

According to one of its zookeepers, the animal had already died by the time it was delivered to the zoo, China Youth Daily reported on Sunday.

The zookeeper, surnamed Feng, said the tiger was hit by a car after it escaped and may have sustained internal injuries. The zoo is conducting an autopsy.

Chinese circus tiger attacks two children after breaking out of cage in middle of performance

Thousands of social media users expressed their sympathy for the tiger’s plight, saying it must have suffered greatly, with many people calling for animal circuses to be banned in China.

“Tigers don’t belong in cages, they belong in the wilderness,” one person wrote on microblog site Weibo.

Chinese circus defends using rare animals in its acts despite poor crowds at shows and criticism of its methods

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Circus tiger escapes but dies after it is caught
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