Tiger bites off boy's arm at Indian zoo

Stock photo: PA

A two-year-old boy's arm was bitten off by a tiger at a zoo in India after he tried to feed it some chocolate.

The boy, called Nikhil, had been visiting the Bellary Zoo in Karnataka, near Bangalore, when she took her eyes off him to look for a playground.

While she was away, he managed to put his arm through cage bars to offer his chocolate to the animals and a male tiger known as Bhima immediately attacked.

Zoo officials have blamed the boy's relatives for the incident, with the Deputy Conservator of Forests, S Manikantan, telling The Daily Telegraph: "A two-and-a-half year old boy had come to the zoo with his grandparents. His grandmother was attending a phone call, while the boy put his arm into the tiger closure through the grill. The tiger pounced on boy, injuring him badly. Unfortunately, he lost his forearm in the attack.

"We take precautions but the visitors have to be extra careful."

However, zoo officials are yet to figure out how the boy ventured so close to the tiger, as Nikhil managed to cross a chain-link fence to the enclosure.

A senior police officer told the Times of India: "It was purely negligence on part of the zoo officials. The chain link is not enough to prevent the visitors venturing close to the beast."

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