A Chinese man’s attempt to enter a zoo without paying the admission fee turned out to be a fatal mistake when the trespasser was mauled to death by tigers after jumping into their pen.

The husband and father of two was identified as a Mr. Zhang of Hubei province, who died of his injuries after being rushed to a hospital following the attack. Mr. Zhang was visiting the Youngor Zoo in the city of Ningbo in eastern China with his wife, two children, and a friend.

Zhang’s wife and children reportedly paid the £15 entrance fee, while he and a friend attempted to scale the perimeter walls, one of which surrounded the tiger pen. In front of horrified onlookers – which reportedly included Zhang’s wife and kids – Zhang jumped into the tiger pen, but his friend did not follow.

From the BBC:

“It said that Mr Zhang, along with his wife and two children, were visiting the park on Sunday with his colleague, surnamed Li, and his wife.

“The women and children had bought tickets and entered the park, but the two men decided to scale the zoo’s 3m-tall (10ft) outer wall, said Mr. Li who gave a statement to the tourism authority.

“They then climbed another 3m-tall wall that was the boundary of the tiger enclosure. Mr Zhang dropped down into the enclosure and was attacked by a tiger, said Mr Li, who did not follow.

“The tourism authority said there were prominent warning signs posted around the point the two men had entered the park, and iron fencing on top of the walls.”

Members of the crowd took photographs and video of the grisly incident, including photos of Zhang on top of the wall before entering the enclosure, as well as footage of part of the actual attack, which is posted below:

WARNING: video includes graphic content that may not be suitable for some viewers.

In the video, Zhang can be seen surrounded by what appear to be three Siberian tigers, one of which proceeds to bite and claw the victim while repeatedly preventing him from escaping. The screams of onlookers can be heard in the background.

One of the tigers reportedly attempted to drag the bloody man’s body into the brush, before zoo officials used firecrackers and water cannons in an unsuccessful attempt to scare away the animals. The tiger that refused to release Zhang’s body was finally shot and killed.

The incident has been a hot topic on Chinese social media, with many defending the tigers and placing the blame solely on a man who “really does not deserve sympathy,” as one commentator put it.

Strangely enough, these sort of cases seem to have been common lately, particularly in China. In July of last year, tigers mauled two women at a wildlife park in Beijing, killing one and injuring the other.

The attack occurred when the two women left their vehicle while visiting Beijing Badaling Wildlife World, a wild animal park where visitors are allowed to drive their cars but are instructed not to get out of them.

A video of that incident shows the first woman leaving the car before soon being attacked and dragged away by a tiger. A second woman – the mother of the first woman – leaves the car in an attempt to rescue her daughter but is killed by another tiger. A man who remained in the car was unhurt. An argument was reportedly the reason the first woman left the car.

It certainly is tragic when wild animals must be killed in cases like this – instances where humans who should have known better were responsible for creating a danger to themselves and unfortunately, innocent animals as well.

This, folks, is the reason we have the Darwin Awards. Read more at STUPID.news.

Sources:

DailyStar.com

BBC.com

Mirror.co.uk

BBC.com