Story By: Simon Glover, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder,  Agency: Asia Wire Report

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Picture Credit: AsiaWire

These images show a man who had both his arms ripped off by a rare tiger after he reportedly tried to give the big cat a bath.

Vo Thanh Quoi, 49, was found with terrible injuries by keepers who heard his screams at the Thanh Canh park in the town of Thuan An in south-eastern Vietnam’s Binh Duong Province.

He was unconscious and missing his entire right arm and his left arm below the elbow, and was rushed to a hospital in nearby Ho Chi Minh City.

He is still being treated by doctors at the hospital where his condition has been described as critical.

According to at least one report he had been trying to give the big cat a bath. Some sources said he was an employee of the park while others said this had not been confirmed.

Provincial forest protection officials have launched an investigation into the incident at the park which local media says has been closed to visitors for some time.

Vietnam’s ecotourism parks, which often feature live animal performances, have been criticised for the lack of care given to often endangered species.

The Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is native to Vietnam but scientists believe it is now extinct in the wild in the country as none have been recorded since 2017.

However, the big cats are bred on farms for their body parts which are used in traditional medicine and as ornaments.

It is not the first time they have been involved in serious attacks at ecotoursim parks. A vet was killed following an attack at another centre in Binh Duong Province in 2016.

The Indochinese tiger still exists in the wild in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008.

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DailyStar – Tiger rips off both arms of handler – after he tried to give it a bath