Circus Tiger Kills Girl, 8, at Amusement Park

It attacked child in its enclosure
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 3, 2014 10:53 AM CST
Circus Tiger Kills Girl, 8, at Amusement Park
This handout photo provided by the Smithsonian's National Zoo, taken May 23, 2011, shows Sumatran tiger Damai at the zoo in Washington.   (AP Photo/Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian's National Zoo)

Tragedy in China, where an 8-year-old was killed by a circus tiger at an amusement park Friday, Shanghaiist reports. Visiting the park in Chongqing with her family, the girl was apparently able to make her way into the enclosure undetected; the Daily Mail, giving the girl's name as Juan Niu, suggests a tiger may have pulled her in, though it's not clear exactly how she ended up in the cage. Park visitors saw the animal attack her, the Mail reports, noting that it was in a temporary holding pen set up for visiting circus animals. State media called the area an "animal training site," AFP reports via the Japan Times.

The girl died of her injuries in a hospital, CRI reports. "Nothing terrible like this has ever happened before, and we take the safety of our visitors very seriously," says a rep for the Leheledu Amusement Park. "We will pay all compensation necessary to the family and will make sure it's not possible for anything similar to ever happen again." (More tigers stories.)

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