A two-year-old boy was mauled by a leopard at a safari park in Thailand after his granddad mistakenly opened the door to its pen.
The boy, named Orr Burns, and his family were visiting the park in Koh Samui, Thailand, from Rishon LeTsiyon in Israel where they spent some time with the elephants before heading over to the Big Cat enclosure to take some photos with the leopard.
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Mistakenly believing the leopard to be docile, so tourists could take photos alongside it, the boy's granddad opened the door.
As the door opened, the six-year-old leopard - named Tony - burst through the door and pounced on the toddler.
The boy sustained a fractured cheek bone and was photographed with blood pouring from his cheek.
His dad Rafi said the cat pinned his son to the ground as passers-by frantically tried to stop the attack, with some kicking the leopard in the head.
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Rafi said: "The leopard is supposed to be drowsy, fuzzy and not aggressive. There should be a person next to the animal's cage. There was no ambulance there and they didn't know how to evacuate him.
"We felt like we were helpless. I rushed to the cars and asked for him to be taken to the hospital. Everyone was scared and didn't want to take. We didn't believe such a disaster would happen.''
The boy's uncle Rafe Benvenisti said the family had gone on a trip to ride elephants, and at the end of the excursion a guide sent them to the enclosure with the leopard so they could take some photos.
He said: "We waited at the door and it was closed with a hook. Nobody knew what was behind the door, so one of the men opened the handle, and the tiger ran to the door and escaped. There were screams. [The leopard] jumped on Orr's mother, passed under her feet then leapt at the child.
"[The leopard] locked onto his face for four or five seconds. He didn't release Orr until one of the locals kicked the tiger in the head. Everyone was shocked. We were looking for someone to take us to a hospital. We started screaming until someone drove a vehicle and took us. "
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He said the poor child was left screaming after the attack, and was rushed to hospital a found to have a fractured cheek bone.
Rafe continued: "[The leopard] is supposed to be drugged and sleepy. People are supposed to be brought into it only after it is fed and asleep. That was not the case. Everyone who has visited Thailand has pictures with this tiger. It's a normal thing to do.''
Naphat Pleumsut, a zookeeper at the park, said the zoo would be paying the medical costs for the boy.
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He said: ''Relatives of the boy opened the door by mistake and they were not able to close it in time. The leopard then escaped.
''Staff quickly responded and pushed the leopard back into the cage in under ten seconds.
''Authorities from the safari park took the injured boy to Bangkok Hospital Samui. He had a wound on the face and a broken cheek bone. The zoo took care of every issue, including accommodation costs and medical fee, and co-ordinated with the insurance company.''
Topics: World News