Unwell tiger lunges at zookeeper, claws off finger
A Bengal tiger clawed off most of the middle finger of a zookeeper trying to give it some water inside its cage in the zoo hospital on Tuesday.
A zoo official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Fateh Singh, around 45 years old, got too close to the tiger and failed to remove his hand from the cage in time after placing a bowl of water.
The animal didn’t eat the finger, though, and it was recovered.
Singh was rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for treatment. He is a permanent employee of the zoo and works as an assistant zookeeper.
The official said that while Singh is usually deployed to look after lions and tigers, his duty is rotated to other animals too.
Doctors from the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital said the zookeeper lost the middle finger of his right hand. The finger broke off from the middle phalanx or the second joint of the finger. He also suffered a fracture on the thumb.
“The tiger was unwell over the past few days and was not eating anything. It was brought to the zoo hospital on Monday night. On Tuesday morning, the zookeeper was trying to provide water to the animal when it suddenly lunged at him,” said a senior zoo official who asked not to be named.
The victim was rescued and soon rushed to the hospital. Zoo director Renu Singh also arrived at the spot on being informed about the incident.
“The doctors from the surgery and orthopaedics department considered rejoining the finger, but on further examination found that there was too little bone left to do so,” said a doctor at the hospital on condition of anonymity.
“The distal phalanx or the first bone on the tip of the thumb was fractured. This has been plastered and there were some lacerations (or cuts) that have been sutured,” the doctor said.
The tiger, Rama, is around eight years old and was brought to Delhi from Mysuru zoo in 2014.
In a similar incident in 2016, a Sumatran tiger at the Miami Zoo bit off a part of a zookeeper’s finger when he broke protocol and fed the animal through the bars.
This is not the first time that zoo animals have attacked humans who threaten their space in Delhi. In 2014, a white tiger at the zoo killed a 19-year-old man who jumped over a barricade into its enclosure.
Last week, a 30-year-old man attempted suicide by trying to enter the enclosure of an Indian lion at the zoo.
He was later counselled and the police informed his brother, who took the man with him.
The tiger was not eating anything. It was brought to the zoo hospital on Monday night. On Tuesday morning, the zookeeper was trying to give water to the animal when it suddenly lunged at him
DELHI ZOO OFFICIAL