A California wildlife conservationist has been mauled by two tigers at a sanctuary she founded.
The two big cats were seemingly trying to play with 66-year-old Patty Perry while she was inside their cage on Sunday, but ended up leaving her suffering from numerous cuts and puncture wounds.
She was eventually dragged out of the enclosure by other members of staff and firefighters who were in the vicinity.
Perry is the founder of Wildlife Environmental Conservation (WEC), a Californian non-profit organisation 'dedicated to conservation efforts throughout the globe'. She was enjoying playtime at the organisation's Moorpark animal sanctuary when things took a terrifying turn for the worse.
A Bengal tiger managed to wrap one of its paws around Perry's legs before dragging her to the ground. At that point the other tiger pounced on top of her and began using its claws to paw at her.
The other staff present had to get in and drag her out of the cage, but she had already sustained the injuries to her head and shoulders.
Michael Berry, one of the attorneys for the Wildlife Environmental Conservation, said that Perry doesn't think the two big cats were trying to hurt her on purpose.
They are just big cats, after all. Big cats have big claws.
Berry told ABC7 Los Angeles: "A lot of people I'm sure that saw it were horrified thinking the worst.
"[Perry] said it was obvious they were playing with her because they do love her. She raised them from babies."
He went on to describe the incident: "They began to play with her and the Bengal took both paws and wrapped them around her legs. She fell on the ground and another tiger jumped on her and began to pull on her before they got her out and she got some lacerations."
Perry is still in the hospital and an investigation into the incident has begun.
WEC is the home of more than 50 animals, including birds of prey, zebras and other big cats. Bradbury added that while Perry is devastated about the incident, she intends to return to the sanctuary to visit the tigers as soon as possible.
Her attorney added that while animal control had been made aware of what had happened, they were not expecting any repercussions.
He added: "It's never happened before. She's gone in on hundreds of occasions."
The incident involving the tigers took place during a special event organised for donors to the organisation.
Featured Image Credit: HelpWildlife.org