Boy, 2, mauled by leopard in Thailand after grandfather accidentally opens pen 

Israeli tourist boy, 2, is mauled in the face by a leopard after grandfather accidentally opened door to its pen in Thai resort of Koh Samui

  • Tony the leopard savaged Orr Burns, 2,  on Koh Samui Island, Thailand  
  • Leopard’s bite fractured toddler’s cheek bone giving him face wounds 
  • Zoo keeper said family opened the door and were unable to close it in time 
  • Family thought the animal was supposed to be drugged, drowsy and docile  

A leopard pounced and plunged its teeth into an Israeli toddler’s face after the boy’s grandfather opened the door to the predator’s pen. 

The big cat, named Tony, pounced on two-year-old, Orr Burns, and bit into his face, fracturing the child’s cheekbone and causing blood to gush from the wounds.  

The leopard finally yielded and jumped off the boy when locals kicked him in the head. 

The boy’s grandfather had opened the pen at a safari park on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand thinking the predator was docile.  

Tony the leopard can be seen thundering towards the door as it is briefly opened. He then escapes to pounce on Orr’s mother, slinking through her legs and finding his final target of Orr

The zoo keeper, Naphat Pleumsut, said that the staff managed to get the leopard back into the cage after just 10 seconds but it wasn't quick enough and Orr suffered a fractured cheek bone and face wounds

The zoo keeper, Naphat Pleumsut, said that the staff managed to get the leopard back into the cage after just 10 seconds but it wasn’t quick enough and Orr suffered a fractured cheek bone and face wounds

‘The leopard is supposed to be drowsy, fuzzy and not aggressive,’ said the toddler’s father, Rafi Burns.

Before leaping on little Orr, Tony pounced on the child’s mother, slinking his way through her legs before attacking him.

The Burns family were visiting from Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel, and were making their way from the elephant park to the leopard’s pen. 

Orr’s great uncle said the guards directed the family to the pen’s door to take a photo with the big cat. 

He added that nobody knew what was behind the door and that one of the guards opened it and the leopard thundered towards it and escaped.  

While the Burns family insisted that it was a member of staff who opened the pen, zoo keeper Naphat Pleumsut, said it was the boy’s relatives who were responsible. 

A sign above at the safari park on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand shows that young children are not allowed near the pen. Orr's great uncle said that the guards pointed the family towards the cage to take photographs with the big cat inside

A sign above at the safari park on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand shows that young children are not allowed near the pen. Orr’s great uncle said that the guards pointed the family towards the cage to take photographs with the big cat inside

‘Relatives of the boy opened the door by mistake and they were not able to close it in time. 

‘Staff quickly responded and pushed the leopard back into the cage in under ten seconds,’ he said.

Pleumsut went on to explain that the zoo had paid for the boy’s treatment at Bangkok Hospital Samui and that the Israeli family had thanked them before they returned home.  

  

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