Man under investigation for entering tiger enclosure

A tourist who illegally broke into a white tiger enclosure at the Beijing Wildlife Park in Daxing district on Saturday afternoon has been detained and is currently under investigation, local police said on Sunday.

The intruder, a male surnamed Jiang, 56, was not injured due to the safety protection device installed at the enclosure and timely rescue carried by the on-site staff, said a statement issued by the park Sunday.

Animals also returned to their places safely after zookeepers drove them away, it said.

As per the report, the staff responsible for the safety of the enclosure found a man getting out of the self-driving vehicle against regulations. The tourist ignored the staff members' appeals, ran across the protective slope, and jumped into the isolation trench of the enclosure.

The employees shouted to the tourist and asked him not to move. At the same time, the staff began feeding food to animals to distract attention. During the rescue, the man refused to follow the staff members' instructions, climbed to the exhibition area from the bottom of the isolation trench, confronted the 11 white tigers, and constantly used words and actions to provoke the animals.

The park launched a safety emergency plan immediately and drove the animals away from the exhibition area with bait and firecrackers. Then the man was subdued and taken away from the site by the staff.

The park gave special thanks to all the tourists who drove through the exhibition area for giving it precious time for the rescue work and saving a person's life.