This is the horrifying moment a Siberian tiger attacked a young female zookeeper in full view of visitors.
The big cat, called Typhoon, sprang on the keeper at Kaliningrad Zoo, in Russia, after its cage was accidentally left open while she brought food to the animal.
But her life was saved as shocked onlookers shouted and threw stones at tiger until it backed away.
Some men even lifted a table and chairs from a nearby cafe, hurling them over the fence to distract the predator so the keeper could escape.
A female zookeeper in Russia is lucky to be alive after she was badly mauled by a male tiger while taking it food. Part of the animal’s cage was accidentally left open, allowing it to attack
Horrified visitors watched as the animal, a 16-year-old male named Typhoon, dragged the girl to the ground and began attacking her. The incident took place at Kaliningrad Zoo, in Russia
Guests managed to distract the big cat by throwing stones, stick, and a table and bench from a nearby cafe into the enclosure, allowing the keeper to escape
The unnamed woman zookeeper, from Kaliningrad, was badly mauled but was rushed to hospital is expected to survive.
Alarming pictures show the woman on her back on the ground with the tiger on top of her, seemingly about to go in for the kill.
But at this point, the zoo visitors’ screams, shouts and stone-throwing distracted the big cat, which has never previously attacked a keeper.
The commotion alerted other visitors who ran to join the hero onlookers saving the woman who was able to run to a secure part of the compound.
‘The girl’s face face was bleeding,’ said one account based on the accounts of witnesses.
‘She screamed and tried to fight off the animal.’
Other zoo employees were not present at the moment of the surprise attack, and it was down to the Russian visitors to save the keeper.
The Siberian tiger – the largest cat in the world – was supposed to be contained in another part of its compound when the woman brought its food.
But there was clearly a problem and the cat – described as ‘elderly’ – was able to attack.
A spokesman praised the visitors.
After the keeper escaped zoo staff arrived and sedated Typhoon (file image) and a criminal investigation has been launched
Typhoon was born in captivity in Chelyabinsk Zoo in 2001 before being moved to Kaliningrad. Keepers say he has no history of attacking staff, but was described as ‘bad tempered’ and ‘aggressive’
‘The animal entered the enclosure when the keeper was there,’ said a statement. ‘The tiger attacked the human.’
‘Visitors with their shouting, stones and other improvisation managed to distract the animal. This allowed the zoo employee to hide in a back room.’
It was even visitors who called an ambulance.
Later zoo staff arrived at the scene and shot a sedative into the tiger.
A local health ministry spokesman said: ‘The patient was delivered to the hospital with multiple wounds to the body and limbs.
‘She is conscious, her condition is assessed as stable but critical. There is no threat to her life.’
The woman is in intensive care at a hospital in Kaliningrad, a Russian region wedged between the NATO and EU countries of Poland and Lithuania.
A criminal investigation has been opened.
The Siberian tiger was born on 1 July 2001 in Chelyabinsk Zoo and was later moved to Kaliningrad Zoo.He turned 16 this year.
In the wild such tigers – a critically endangered species – have a life expectancy of 15 years.
‘Typhoon has never before shown any aggression to zoo staff,’ said a source.
But today the animal was ‘bad tempered’ and ‘aggressive’.