A tiger has been shot dead after a man who climbed a fence into the tiger enclosure to avoid paying for a ticket was mauled to death at a zoo in eastern China.
The attack was captured on camera and shared on social media, with one video showing a tiger gnawing on the man’s body as people screamed.
A local government statement said the victim, identified only by his surname of Zhang, climbed a fence with a friend instead of buying tickets, at a resort in Zhejiang province on Saturday.
The statement said Zhang’s wife and two children, and his friend’s wife, bought tickets to enter the zoo.
But Zhang allegedly passed through a wire netting and eventually climbed a wall to enter the tiger enclosure while his friend stayed back, the statement said.
A tiger attacked him inside the enclosure, as visitors to the park apparently watched from a distance.
Photos and video shared on social media appeared to show Zhang lying on the ground as tigers circled him.
One tiger was shot dead by local police, state television reported, and three others nearby were dispersed using firecrackers.
Zhang died later in hospital.
