Notice to all circus lion tamers, elephant racers and workers in whatever line of employment the kid in Free Willy was in: No matter how much you think a wild animal is your buddy, always remember that if it is bigger and stronger than you and has massive teeth, it can really fuck your shit up. Case in point: A trainer at Queensland’s Australia Zoo was mauled during a show with a Bengal Tiger this afternoon, with the animal becoming “over excited” during a play session, and biting the man on the shoulder and neck, giving him a bad case of the Siegfried and Roys.
The 30-year-old trainer was treated by paramedics at the scene, and was then airlifted to the Royal Brisbane Hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition. He had reportedly raised the tiger since it was a cub, but that doesn’t make it any less of a tiger, and clearly leaves it no less likely to sink its teeth into his tiny, fleshy human neck.
Australia Zoo director Wes Mennon said in a statement: “At the time of the incident, our emergency response team were on the scene immediately. They acted professionally and calmly. My hat goes off to them.” A message from the Australia Zoo Twitter account reads “One of our senior tiger handlers was bitten during a demo. He is stable and recovering in hospital. Our support is with him and his family.”
Via Courier Mail. Lead image by Deshakalyan Chowdhury/Stringer via Getty Images
