Hyderabad, August 06: A tiger is a tiger and it would certainly not eat grass. Rather it would prefer to nibble the hand that holds grass.
That’s what an inebriated visitor at the Nehru Zoological park learnt when he attempted to feed grass to a White tiger in its enclosure on Wednesday evening.
The visitor, Ramesh, 35 is now being treated at Osmania General Hopsital. The agitated wild cat had a full go at his hand scrapping off the flesh upto his wrist and mauling him severely on his shoulder too.
A terrified Ramesh, identified as a native of Mogalturu village in West Godavari district, cried for help as the tiger attacked him. He tried to pull himself away but his strength was no match to the tiger. Three security personnel had to sweat it out to free him from the tiger clasp. But, by then flesh was nearly scrapped off his hand leading to profuse bleeding.
Zoo officials are yet to figure out how the visitor managed to stay back in the zoo after the visiting hours end at 5 p.m. After the zoo is closed for public, the animals are sent into the night house and its gates are locked. However, Mr. Ramesh, managed to jump over the chain link fence of the White tiger’s enclosure around 6 p.m.
Carrying grass in his hand, he walked upto the animal’s night house, inserted his hand through the the girlls, perhaps to throw the grass near the tiger. “The white tiger lunged at him and mauled his hand upto the wrist,” the Zoo Director, K. Bhoopal Reddy said.
He had initially told the zoo authorities that he went to the tiger enclosure as he wanted to end his life. Minutes after the police and media persons arrived there, he changed his version maintaining that the ‘mishap’ occurred when he tried to feed grass to the white tiger.
“He is out of danger, but lost lots of blood. He has been operated upon.” Osmania Hospital doctors said.
-Agencies