An animal handler who is recovering in hospital after being attacked by a tiger does not want the animal destroyed.
Dave Styles was taken by helicopter to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital after the big cat, named Charlie, dragged him into a pool and bit his neck and shoulders during a show at the Australia Zoo in Queensland.
Officials said Mr Styles was wearing a poncho and Charlie, a Sumatran-Bengal mix, may have mistaken the handler for his favourite biting toy.
Zoo bosses said Mr Styles did not want the tiger to be put down.
Director, Wes Mannion, said: “I know Dave and his family don’t want that and of course it’s not the animal’s fault, plain and simple.
“It was just over-exuberance on the animal’s part.”
The zoo said Mr Styles – who has worked with big cats since 2005 and raised the tiger from a cub – was recovering from surgery to repair soft tissue damage in his neck and was in a stable condition yesterday.
RACQ (Royal Automobile Club of Queensland) care flight medic, Dr Andrew Haggerty, said the injuries could have been much worse, and Mr Styles was alive thanks to quick thinking by emergency workers.
“When you consider the power of a tiger it could have been a lot worse,” Dr Haggerty said.
“The three puncture wounds to his neck were very severe. These sorts of injuries are very dangerous and have the ability to go from stable to potentially life-threatening in a matter of minutes.
“He can credit the quick thinking of his mates for getting him out of the enclosure to safety and the work from local ambulance crews for his survival.”
Dr Haggerty said Mr Styles was able to speak to medical crews about his injuries.
The Australia Zoo is owned by the family of Steve Irwin, the Australian wildlife expert who died while filming an underwater documentary in 2006.