Most Popular
-
1
Dongduk Women’s University halts coeducation talks
-
2
Defense ministry denies special treatment for BTS’ V amid phone use allegations
-
3
Russia sent 'anti-air' missiles to Pyongyang, Yoon's aide says
-
4
OpenAI in talks with Samsung to power AI features, report says
-
5
Two jailed for forcing disabled teens into prostitution
-
6
South Korean military plans to launch new division for future warfare
-
7
Gold bars and cash bundles; authorities confiscate millions from tax dodgers
-
8
Trump picks ex-N. Korea policy official as his principal deputy national security adviser
-
9
Kia EV9 GT marks world debut at LA Motor Show
-
10
Teen smoking, drinking decline, while mental health, dietary habits worsen
동물원을 참관 중이던 20대 초반 남성이 호랑이에 물어 뜯겨 사망함에 따라 동물원의 안전설비 미흡에 대한 비난 여론이 들끓고 있다.
외신의 최근 보도에 따르면 인도의 20세 초반 남성이 지난 23일 뉴델리의 국립 동물원에서 호랑이 구역 울타리를 타고 올라가다가 균형을 잃고 호랑이 굴로 떨어졌다.
호랑이가 탐색전을 벌이는 약 15분 동안 남성이 떨며 바닥에 주저앉아 두 손을 모으고 살려달라고 비는 모습이 다른 관람객의 카메라에 잡혔다.
곧이어 울타리 바깥 쪽에 구름처럼 모여든 관람객 중 한 명이 호랑이에게 돌을 집어 던지자, 위협을 느낀 호랑이가 남성을 공격했다.
호랑이는 남성의 목을 물어뜯어 치명상을 입힌 후, 자신의 구역 안쪽으로 물고 들어가 숨통을 완전히 끊어 놓았다.
신고를 받고 출동한 경찰과 동물원 직원은 안정제 총을 소지하지 않아, 남성이 호랑이에게 공격당하는 모습을 보면서도 발만 동동 구른 것으로 전해졌다. 사고 약 2시간 후, 심하게 훼손된 남성의 시신을 경찰이 수습해 동물원 밖으로 이송했으며 호랑이는 격리 수용됐다.
국립동물원은 맹수 수용시설의 울타리가 낮고 안정제 총이 구비되어 있지 않았던 점 등 보안상의 취약성에 대해 여론의 뭇매를 맞았다.
동물원 측은 “안정제 총을 보유하고 있으나 모두 동물원 내 병원시설에 보관되어 있다”며 “안정제 총을 가져오기 전에 소년이 이미 사망해서 어쩔 수 없었다”고 해명했다.
수용시설의 안전성 비난에 대해서는 “(울타리 밖에 별도로) 안전요원이 배치되어 있다”고 주장하면서 “울타리를 더 높이면 사람들이 동물을 어떻게 볼 수 있겠나”라고 반문했다.
이어 사망한 남성이 십대 학생이었다는 일부 보도는 사실이 아니며, “음주를 한 것으로 짐작되는” 약 20세 전후의 성인이 울타리 안으로 스스로 "들어간 것"이라고 반박했다.
한편, 2011년 통계자료에 따르면 인도 내 백호의 수는 100 마리 미만으로, 정부의 희귀동물보호 정책에 따라 보호되고 있다.
(코리아헤럴드 온라인뉴스)
<관련 영문 뉴스>
White tiger kills youth at New Delhi zoo
A white tiger on Tuesday attacked and killed a youth who apparently jumped into its enclosure at a zoo in the Indian capital.
Witnesses said the tiger grabbed the young man by the neck as horrified onlookers at the National Zoological Park in New Delhi screamed and threw sticks and stones to try to save him.
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".
"He kept suffering for the next 10-15 minutes, but nobody helped him,"
Himanshu, who only gave one name, told the CNN-IBN news channel.
The head of the zoo told AFP that a guard posted at the enclosure raised the alarm, but the victim was dead before anything could be done.
"We do have tranquilising guns but they are at the zoo hospital. By the time we could have organised those, he was killed," said zoo director Amitabh Agnihotri.
The man climbed over the railing and into a deep concrete ditch at about 1pm, a statement from the zoo said, from where the tiger apparently dragged the man into its grassy enclosure.
Witnesses had said the railings around the tiger enclosure were low and speculated that the victim may have fallen in.
But Agnihotri defended the zoo. "There are guards there. If we increase the height of the fencing, how will people be able to look at the animal?" he said.
The zoo said the victim was a Delhi resident and about 20 years old, contradicting earlier reports that he was a teenager.
One official said he also appeared to have been "under the influence of alcohol".
"Security had tried to keep him away from the enclosure, but he somehow managed to jump in and the white tiger who was present at the enclosure leapt on to him," junior official Rohit Kumar told AFP.
"This is the first time such an incident has occurred in this enclosure."
- Tiger taken away -
Photos posted online of the attack show the tiger standing over the victim, who was lying on the grass curled into a ball and trying to protect his head with his hands.
Another witness said the tiger kept "roaming around" the enclosure, holding the victim by the neck.
"The tiger first caught his neck and then left him before coming back again and taking him to the other side (of the enclosure) by his neck," Bitto, who only gave one name, told TV networks.
The victim's body was later taken away after lying in a corner of the enclosure, draped in a white sheet, while the tiger had been taken away and locked up, an AFP reporter said.
The zoo has at least three white tigers, although only one of them is let out into the enclosure daily for visitors to see, a zoo official said.
White tigers are found in southern and eastern Asia, particularly India, and owe their appearance to a recessive gene. They are regarded as an endangered species.
India is home to 1,706 Royal Bengal tigers and fewer than 100 white tigers, according to the last census in 2011. All the white tigers are in captivity.
Rampant poaching and loss of habitat due to human encroachment are cited as the major challenges to tiger conservation efforts. (AFP)
