Woman Fatally Mauled by Tiger, Another Injured, at Badaling Wildlife Park

A woman has been killed, and another injured, by Siberian tigers at the Beijing Badaling Wildlife World enclosure near The Great Wall on Saturday (Jul 23).

The attack occurred after one of the women exited the private car she was sharing with fellow visitors. Once in the open, one of the tigers pounced on her, according to Beijing's state-run Legal Evening News outlet. When the second woman stepped out to assist her companion, another tiger attacked her as well.

Visitors are prohibited from departing their vehicles precisely because the animals the are so dangerous, a point that was reiterated by the local Yanqing district government in a Weibo post. That statement confirmed some key details about the attack's location, and said the second woman was being treated for her injuries, though little else was disclosed.

The Daily Mail, however, published more details in another article. It said that the second woman to leave the car was the one who died. She was following the younger woman, who first stepped out after arguing with her husband. The article referred to the group as a family of four, and said the man also attempted to help both women while the fourth family member, a child, stayed in the vehicle. The piece cites this Sohu article as its source.

Park staff refused to answer questions about the mauling when called by the Legal Evening News, saying only that the enclosure would be closed for a few days because of recent heavy rain.

This is far from the first such fatality at the Badaling enclosure. This past March, an elephant in heat trampled a park employee to death. Tigers also killed a visitor who mistakenly walked into the prohibited area in 2009, and lethally mauled a patrolman in 2014 after he supposedly exited his jeep to relieve himself. Critics have long deemed the park to be dangerous and cruel to animals, especially after an infamous 2008 news report that showed the Badaling lions ripping apart live goats and chickens for the amusement of onlooking crowds.   

Photo: Diepresse.com