A desperate father fought in vain to save his eight-year-old son from being mauled to death by a tiger on Sunday at a zoo in Changde City, central China's Hunan Province, according to the local newspaper Xiaoxiang Morning Post.

Mei Qide had sent his son into the zoo in Linjiang Park accompanied by his 10-year-old cousin, not going in himself to save the price of an adult ticket.

The victim, Mei Changhua, climbed over a 1-meter-high barrier to get a better view of the big cats when the tiger attacked him through the bars of its cage. His cousin ran back to the entrance to call Mei Qide, who raced to help and was seriously injured pulling his son free.

Despite his efforts, the boy bled to death on the way to hospital.

"If proper zoo-keeping rules had been adhered to, this tragedy would never have happened," He Yong, an official with the US-based International Fund for Animal Welfare said yesterday in Beijing.

As a place often visited by children, the zoo has a responsibility to create a safe environment for both them and the animals, he added.

Shortly after the accident, one visitor said the 1-meter-high fence to keep people away from the cage was obviously inadequate and very easy for children to climb over.

Local resident Pan Jiang, who has a five-year-old son of his own, said that if the boy had been with an adult at the time the accident would not have happened.

Media attempts to contact the zoo's administration were unsuccessful.

A source surnamed Zhang, from the city's Bureau of Parks & Woods, said the zoo's owner is a private business person who hires limited numbers of workers to run the zoo, which covers about two hectares inside the government-owned Linjiang Park.

According to local media, the zoo has already compensated the Mei family 350,000 yuan (US$42,288) for the boy's death.

(China Daily April 12, 2005)