Tiger not a man-eater; got aggravated with pelting stone: Delhi Zoo

, Sept 25: The 'Killer

' of New Delhi is not killer afterall, it is not a Man Eater, said a Zoo official. He further said that the White Tiger, who mauled the 20 year old student, showed no signs of restlessness or unusual behaviour after the incident.

In fact, Vijay, the Tiger was born and bred in captivity and knew no hunting techniques. He was born to Lakshman and Yamuna in 2007.

R.A. Khan, curator, National Zoological Park, said,"He (Vijay) has been doing absolutely fine, but we will be keeping him under observation for the next four to five days. However, until now, he has not shown any unusual behaviour."

Putting the blame on the spectators, he said that the Tiger became aggressive when the people started pelting stones and started shouting after Maksood fell into the enclosure.

Eyewitness say that Maksood, 20, who was a resident of Anand Parbat crossed the stand-off barrier, despite being warned by the guard there. Officials say,"The guard posted at the enclosure tried to stop the youth twice. But Maksood crossed the stand-off barriers when the guard was not looking. He then jumped into the enclosure. Maksood was mentally unstable otherwise why would a sane would jump into the tiger's enclosure."

Emphasizing on the stable mental health condition of the Tiger, Khan said that the seven-year old Tiger Vijay ate his daily diet without any problems. "He was given 10 kilos of Buffalo meat and given a bath. There were no signs of aggression," he said.

In fact, it is said that he was fed exactly at 4:30 pm yesterday also, after the incident took place at 1:30 pm. "He is fed once everyday at 4:30 pm," said Khan.

The curator further added,"Vijay was born and bred here and in all these years he has never shown any signs of aggression. It is absolutely wrong to call him a man-eater."

What had actually happened

Vijay first observed the 20-year old boy who fell into the mote that separated the enclosure from the public enclosure. He was curious.

An official said," When the man fell in the dry moat, Vijay was on the other side (of the enclosure). It was only after he heard the loud thud he came near the moat. Vijay was raised in captivity and hence never really picked up hunting techniques... the situation could have been worse."

Zoo authorities say that Vijay stays calm and plays all by himself in his enclosure, which has a moat, a natural space for the animal to roam around and a concrete enclosure.

OneIndia News