A white tiger attacked and killed a young man who allegedly jumped over a fence into the animal's enclosure at the New Delhi zoo Tuesday, a zoo spokesman said. The 19-year-old was described to be mentally ill by his parents, the Associated Press reported.
Despite repeated warnings that he shouldn't get too close to the outdoor enclosure, the man eventually climbed over a knee-high fence, through some small hedges, then jumped down 18 feet into a protective moat, said National Zoological Park spokesman Riyaz Ahmed Khan.
The deceased was identified as Maqsood Khan, 20, a factory worker and resident of central Delhi's Anand Parbat.
As horrified onlookers watched the male tiger, which lives on a grassy tree-filled island, grab Maqsood by the neck, they screamed and threw sticks and stones to try and save him.
The enclosed space is separated from visitors by a concrete ditch, with shrubs on the tiger's side followed by a two-foot railing.
The frightened man was witnessed crouching against a wall as the tiger stared into his face, according to NDTV's footage, which also broadcast the tiger carrying the man around the island.
One witness said he raced to the enclosure after hearing screams to see the victim locked in the tiger's jaws, "writhing badly in pain," Hindustan Times reported.
Two hours after the attack, as Khan's body lay on the outside enclosure, authorities were eventually able to frighten the tiger into a small cage inside the enclosure. However, the victim was dead by the time help reached him.
The zoo did have tranquilizer guns, said zoo manager Riaz Khan. "But by the time we could arrange them, the man was dead."
"The tiger was just being a tiger," said Belinda Wright, who has spent years working to protect India's dwindling numbers of wild tigers. "An unusual object fell into his domain. ... He's a wild animal in captivity. It is certainly not the tiger's fault."
The zoo authorities have been booked for causing death by negligence, police said.
"It's not unusual for visitors to a zoo in India to taunt animals or toss bits of food through cages even though zoo rules forbid it," according to the AP. "Groups of visitors may sometimes throw used plastic water bottles or stones into animal enclosures to get the animal to react."
According to the last census in 2011, India is home to 1,706 Royal Bengal tigers and fewer than 100 white tigers. All the white tigers are in captivity.