"Playful" tiger injures zookeeper

JUNSELE, Sweden, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A zookeeper is expected to recover from wounds inflicted by a playful white tiger, said the owner of the Junsele Zoo in the north of Sweden.

The keeper, who has worked with the zoo's tigers for 16 years, was trapped in a cage with the big cat for about 15 minutes Saturday, said Ulf Henriksson, the zoo's owner.

Henriksson said he lured the tiger away from the staff member with a piece of meat so rescue workers could get the man out of the cage and into an ambulance, the Swedish news agency tt reported Sunday.

The keeper was bitten in the foot and the shoulder and would be hospitalized for a couple of days to ensure against infection from the wounds, Henriksson said, noting the tiger saw the keeper more as a playmate than a threat.

"Had this tiger wanted to inflict injury then we would not have had this happy ending," Henriksson said.

Courtesy of Josip Marcan
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Mr. Henriksson, spoken like a true owner. In case you didn't know it, I suggest "bitten in the foot and shoulder" constitutes an "injury," and I don't think that means he tripped over a shovel. I can't speak to Swedish tigers, but American tigers generally "want to inflict" the described injury. LOL