Singapore Zoo visitors screamed as an apparently disturbed worker was mauled to death by three white tigers after he jumped into their enclosure, the zoo says.
The tigers pounced on the 32-year-old contract cleaner after he jumped into the moat surrounding their enclosure and then moved toward the animals, the zoo said in a statement.
The zoo, one of Singapore's most prominent tourist attractions, described the victim as "apparently disturbed and agitated".
Fellow workers reported that he "was acting a little bit erratic and odd, throwing papers around" before the incident, assistant director of zoology Biswajit Guha told Singapore's 938Live radio.
Guha said the cleaner worked at the chimpanzee area and was on his lunch break when the tragedy occurred.
"Goodbye, I won't be seeing you again," Guha quoted the victim as telling one of the zookeepers.
"And they saw him riding off on a bicycle and coming back in through the front entrance again, and then about five minutes later, the whole alert came on the walkie talkie," he said.
Horrified visitors screamed as zookeepers rushed into the tiger enclosure to try to rescue the victim.
They threw rocks to try to distract the animals, which dragged their victim toward a passageway, said Guha.
Zoo workers finally succeeded in luring the tigers away from the man and confining them to their pens, but paramedics later pronounced him dead.
The victim had injuries mainly to his head and neck, Lieutenant Colonel N Subhas, the director of public affairs with the Singapore Civil Defence Force, told AFP.
The zoo identified the dead man as Nordin Bin Montong, a zoo contract worker from Malaysia.
"At no time was any visitor or Singapore Zoo staff exposed to any danger," the zoo said.
Police said they were called to the zoo about 12.30pm and were investigating the "unnatural" death.
The zoo said the moat and other permanent safety features at the enclosure meant there was no risk to visitors or staff.
"Nonetheless, we have temporarily closed the white tiger exhibit to visitors to facilitate investigations into this unfortunate incident," it said.
In an emergency
NOBODY is allowed in the white tigers' enclosure when the big cats are in it, the Singapore Zoo said yesterday.
When their dens need cleaning, it is done only after the beasts are confined in an adjoining den. If someone is attacked, staff members raise the alarm over their walkie-talkies. Field staff head for the site with emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers, extendable poles, cymbals and clay balls to distract the animals. Licensed shooters go to the zoo's armoury to collect a double-barrelled shotgun and a .375 rifle - 'shoot-to-kill weapons in case a life is in danger', said the zoo's assistant director of zoology Biswajit Guha. Yesterday, it took five minutes to activate the shooters. By the time they arrived, the tigers were already confined in their dens, so there was no need to shoot them, said Mr Guha.
* White tigers are not a specific species themselves. They are a unique member of the bengal tiger family and are very rare.
One hundred years ago it is estimated that 100,000 tigers of all varieties existed in the wild. Today estimates are the total population may now be under 5,000. White tigers make up only a small fraction of that figure. There are only about 200 white tigers, all in zoos around the world. There are about 30 in zoos in the United States. Part of the reason they are so rare is that both the male and female parent must carry the right gene for the unique coloring to produce a white tiger cub.
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