British tourist mauled by tiger at Thailand tourist attraction
A British student has been left scarred for life after being mauled by a tiger at a famous Thailand tourist attraction.
Isabelle Brennan, 19, a human sciences university student in London, and her sister Georgie, 21, had only been travelling for a week when the incident occurred at the Tiger Temple sanctuary in Thailand.
She told the Daily Mail: "One minute I was petting a tiger's back, the next it turned its head and knocked me to the ground with its paw.
"As it lunged with its teeth I felt an agonising pain on the inside of my left thigh above my knee.
"When I looked down at my leg it was terrifying. All I could see was blood."
Staff from the sanctuary immediately jumped in between Isabelle and the animal, while sister Georgie dragged her away. Two friends in her group then applied a tourniquet on the four-inch wound to try and stop the bleeding, reports Yahoo 7.
Isabelle was then rushed to Thailand's Kanchanaburi Memorial Hospital where she needed "tens of stitches" to repair the wound.
She then developed an infection and fever, and had to stay in the hospital for a fortnight.
She is now recovering with her family at home in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, but still cannot walk unaided.
According to the Chiangrai Times, she said staff at the sanctuary were very helpful, but wants to warn other tourists about the potential danger. She said: "I was nervous about going into the Temple.
"However, I was reassured by the staff that as the tigers had been hand-reared, they were so used to humans they were completely tame.
"In hindsight I had an incredibly lucky escape. I could have lost my leg or worse. The Tiger Temple staff were very upset. They paid for all my treatment in hospital and visited every day. They explained the tiger was just being playful. However, I want to warn others going to Tiger Temple that the animals might not be as docile as they first appear."
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