Man Mauled After Jumping Into Tiger Den at Bronx Zoo

By Jonathan Dienst and Shimon Prokupecz, NBC New York

Man Mauled After Jumping Into Tiger Den at Bronx Zoo

September 21, 2012 Updated Sep 21, 2012 at 3:54 PM PDT

A man jumped out of the Bronx Zoo's monorail into the tiger exhibit Friday afternoon, where he was badly mauled by one of the big cats before zoo employees rescued him using fire extinguishers, zoo officials said.

The man, believed to be around 25, severely injured his leg and foot in the attack, which happened just before 3:30 p.m., sources tell NBC 4 New York. He also has deep cuts to the back.

Once the tiger backed away, the man was instructed to roll under a hot wire to safety, said Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny in a statement. The keepers then called the tiger into its exhibit holding area and secured him there, Breheny said.

It appears the man jumped approximately 20 feet into the den, police said. Before rescuers could reach the man to help him, they first had to get the tiger into a cage, authorities said.

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