DUBLIN, Sept. 5 -- Circus tigers bit off a man's forearms Tuesday morning when he put his hands through the bars of a circus trailer in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. Police said the 41-year-old man, whose name was not released, was trying to touch one of the seven tigers inside a trailer belonging to Duffy's Circus.
His injuries were serious but not life-threatening. The mauling took place after animals were locked up for the night during a series of circus shows in Galway. Police said the man approached the 25-foot trailer at about 4 a.m. The trailer had iron bars and wire mesh, but an open feeding gap at the botton enabled the victim to reach inside. When he tried to touch the tigers, they immediatedly snapped at his hands, severing both arms above the wrists, but below the elbows. The tigers ate the hands.
