Siberian tiger mauls zookeeper

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A 350-pound Siberian tiger that mauled a keeper at the San Francisco Zoo remained on view Saturday, as zoo officials investigated what led to the attack.

The experienced zookeeper, whose name has not been released, underwent emergency surgery and may lose her arm, The Los Angeles Times reports.

She and two other keepers had just finished a 2 p.m. public feeding of the tiger "and were walking around answering questions from the public when this occurred," said Robert Jenkins, the zoo's director of animal care.

Visitors told zoo officials a 3-year-old female Siberian tiger named Tatiana grabbed "the keeper's hands in her claws and was pulling her," said zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca. A second keeper freed the staffer from the tiger's grip.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before," LaMarca said.

The Siberian, or Amur, tiger is critically endangered.