- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
- Cipriano Alvarez reached through bars of cage to give the animals some water
- But tigers grabbed the 55-year-old and ripped off his arms before eating them
- Locals dragged him free after throwing stones and beating the tigers with sticks
A circus worker has lost his arms after being attacked by the tigers he was feeding in a makeshift cage in Guatemala.
Cipriano Alvarez had his limbs ripped off after putting his hands too far through the metal bars to give the animals a bucket of water to drink from at a circus in the village of El Jocotillo.
Locals saved the 55-year-old’s life by throwing stones at the tigers and beating them with sticks so they could free him from the animals’ clutches.
Circus worker Cipriano Alvarez had his arms ripped off after being attacked by tigers he was feeding in a makeshift cage. He is pictured with his gruesome injuries as medics transferred him to hospital
Locals saved the 55-year-old’s life by throwing stones at the tigers (pictured) and beating them with sticks so they could free him from the animals’ clutches
An ambulance rushed Cipriano to hospital and medics managed to keep him alive with an emergency operation. His arms were eaten by the tigers and couldn’t be saved.
Traumatic pictures of him sitting in a municipal ambulance while he was stabilised at the scene were published in local media.
Today it emerged Cipriano had agreed to look after the 13 tigers just two months ago so he could feed his family.
Son Victor Hugo said he normally used metal rods to remove the plates he gave the animals their food on.
He told local media his dad had been instructed to feed the tigers two days and leave them without food on the third.
An ambulance rushed Cipriano to hospital and medics managed to keep him alive with an emergency operation. His arms were eaten by the tigers and couldn’t be saved
Local reports said the site was being used temporarily by the circus owners before a permanent move to more suitable accommodation in Belize. Officials are pictured at the scene
Cipriano is now in intensive care at Cuilapa Hospital in Santa Rosa, near the scene of the near-tragedy in the village of El Jocotillo.
Jimmy Navarro, regional director of a government agency called CONAP which is responsible for the conservation and sustainable use of Guatemala’s biological diversity, said officials had confirmed 13 big cats, a llama and a camel were being kept in cages on waste ground in the village.
Local reports said the site was being used temporarily by the circus owners before a permanent move to more suitable accommodation in Belize.
The animals’ owners are said to have agreed to pay Cipriano’s medical bills.