Man eaten alive by tigers at Copenhagen Zoo

Updated
Man eaten alive by tigers in zoo enclosure
Man eaten alive by tigers in zoo enclosure

Tiger at Copenhagen Zoo: AP


A man has been eaten alive by three Amur tigers after entering their enclosure at Copenhagen Zoo.

The 21-year-old, who had a Danish resident's permit but was not from the country, apparently jumped over the zoo's exterior fence in the middle of the night, and then made his way to the tiger enclosure.

The man was found by zoo attendants still surrounded by the 300lb animals, and had been bitten multiple times.

Superintendent Lars Borg revealed that a post-mortem examination has shown the man was bitten on the thigh, chest, face and throat.

He told the Daily Mail: "We received an emergency call at about 7.30am that a person had been found lying in the tiger pen and that three tigers were surrounding that person.

"The tigers attacked him and killed him. It is likely that a bite to the throat was the primary reason for his death.

"He has been in the water and the animals must have seen that and attacked him."

Man eaten alive by tigers in zoo enclosure
Man eaten alive by tigers in zoo enclosure

Copenhagen Zoo director Steffen Straede talks to press after the fatality: AP


Police invstigating the incident said the zoo's after-hours security had been adequate, and that none of the guards had seen anything unusual.

Officers are now trying to determine where he managed to break in.

The tigers are kept away from the public by a low retaining wall and a deep moat, but police are still unsure exactly how the man entered the enclosure.

The zoo's director, Steffen Straede, said the employees were not at fault, and that the establishment had no immediate plans to change its security procedures, but would review what happened.

According to The Copenhagen Post, he said "anything else would be arrogant".

He added that as the incident was "not their fault", the tigers would not be put down.

This is the first time in its 152-year that a visitor has been killed at the zoo.


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