A keeper at the Shanghai Zoo was killed by a rare South China Tiger on December 17 when he entered the cage to clean it.
The victim was identified by colleagues as a man surnamed Zhou, 56. They said Zhou entered the tiger enclosure to clean it and "did not come out again."
According to Mr. Tu, head of the Shanghai Zoo Feed Department, Zhou is a Shanghai native who's been working at the zoo for about 30 years. When he did not show up for lunch break, colleagues and zoo authorities searched and found him inside the cage with the tiger, his lifeless body lying in a pool of blood, Tu said.
Tu described Zhou as an expert technician and a very kind and respectful man. Zhou's colleagues were greatly saddened by his unexpected death.
The Shanghai zoo is one of China's largest and most popular animal parks and has safety procedures in place. Investigators are working to determine why the tiger attacked Zhou, who is known to be an expert at feeding and caring for tigers.
The Shanghai Zoo and Municipal Landscaping Administration said the South China tiger, an endangered specie, is a 9-year-old male that did not have any previous history of aggression against people.