Tourist killed by tiger after jumping from Great Wall of China... straight into big cat's enclosure

Tourist killed by tiger after jumping from Great Wall of China... straight into big cat's enclosure

By Richard Shears
Last updated at 9:20 PM on 08th March 2009

A tourist returning from hiking along the Great Wall of China decided to take a short cut by jumping down onto 'wasteland' - and was instantly killed when he landed in the jaws of a tiger.

Two friends who had been walking with the 20-year-old man, named only as Guo, stared in horror as the tiger clamped its jaws around his throat and then dragged the mauled body away.

The three men, who had been walking along the Great Wall near Beijing, decided there would a quicker way back to the starting point if they jumped from the ancient structure and cut through some bushland.


A Siberian tiger, the largest of the big cats, similar to the one that killed Mr Guo

What they didn't know was that the bushy area was part of the Siberian tiger's enclosure at the Badaling Wildlife World.

As they jumped down the tiger immediately pounced and Guo was the
unlucky victim.

'He was knocked to the ground, the tiger bit into his throat and he died instantly,' said a wildlife official, giving his name as Wang.

Mr Wang said a park ranger who saw the attack jumped into a jeep and chased after the tiger, which was making its escape with Guo's body still in its jaws.


A section of the Great Wall of China north of Beijing. The wall is a popular tourist attraction

The tiger finally dropped the body, as Guo's terrified friends made their escape from the enclosure by clambering over a fence.

The two men told police they had seen signs around the enclosure warning of predatory animals, the Beijing Times newspaper reporter.

But they said they did not believe the warnings because there was no
sign of any animals.

Siberian tigers are among the world's rarest of the big cat species.

They are also among the largest, weighing up to 500lbs (35 stone).

They are on the critically endangered list, with only 400 or so living in the wild.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1160411/Tourist-killed-tiger-jumping-Great-Wall-China--straight-big-cats-enclosure.html