Half of a 2-year-old boy's arm was bitten off by a captive white tiger at a wildlife park in Sichuan province Saturday afternoon after he reached into the cage.
The child came to visit the Ya'an Bifeng Gorge animal park in the company of three adults at around midday. Wanting to attract the tiger's attention, the child reached his right hand inside the cage through a ventilation device. The white tiger then sunk its teeth deep into the boy's arm just below the elbow, according to Sichuan News (Google Translate provides a decent English translation).
The boy, who has not been identified, was taken to the People's Hospital of Ya'an for initial treatment but was later transferred to another facility for surgery, according to Mirror.
Doctors initially tried to clear up the wound, but unfortunately the entire arm couldn't be saved and the doctors were forced to carry out a partial amputation of the child's arm below the elbow, according to Shanghaiist.
The child's family is distraught following the incident and have refused to speak to reporters about it.
In August 2014, an 11-year-old boy had his arm amputated after it was nearly torn off by a tiger at a zoo in Brazil. He got into an area just outside the tiger's cage at Cascavel Zoo, in the state of Parana, and was attacked when he tried pet the animal through the bars, reports Sky News.
