Zoo visitors in China were shocked to find this tiger that was all skin and bones lying in its enclosure.

The incident took place at a zoo in the city of Lianyungang, which is located in Jiangsu province on the eastern coast of China, just north of Shanghai on Sunday 28th November.

The footage shows the tiger, reportedly a white tiger, lying on its side, with a sunken belly, apparently “dying”, according to local media reports.

But on Monday 29th November, the zoo claimed that the tiger was recovering from stomach problems.

The staff said that the white tiger in the video had recently had acute gastroenteritis. They said: “The tiger was very healthy before, but recently it had acute gastroenteritis. We have treated it for 22 days. The tiger is very fierce and cannot be treated like a human being. Therefore, the recovery is slower.”

The staff said that there are four tigers in the park, and only this one is currently sick. They said: “It is a white male tiger. The white tiger is genetically different from other tiger species, so it is prone to gastrointestinal diseases. Animals are sick and sick.

“Almost all of them are weak and have no appetite.”

Netizens remained unconvinced, however, with online user ‘Miki’ saying: “The meat is going into someone else’s bowl.”

While ‘andysong1980’ said: “The tiger has a bad stomach? Check the food expenses!”