Running Wild conservationist seriously hurt after being attacked at his farm in South Africa

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

A wildlife documentary-maker is seriously injured after being mauled by a tiger in South Africa.

John Varty, who is pioneering a controversial project to create a free-ranging, self-sustaining tiger population outside Asia, was attacked on his Tiger Canyons farm near Philippolis and taken to hospital, where he underwent six-hour emergency surgery.

Varty, 61, was last year the subject of a National Geographic documentary entitled Tiger Man of Africa.

He also achieved Hollywood fame in 1995 when he co-wrote, produced and starred in the movie Running Wild, about a conservationist trying to save leopards from extinction, with a cast including Brooke Shields and Martin Sheen.

How and why a tiger turned against the father-of-three on Wednesday remains unclear. Varty suffered multiple injures and puncture wounds all over his body and required a blood transfusion.

Amanda Appelgryn, spokeswoman for the Mediclinic hospital in Bloemfontein, said Varty was conscious and she had spoken to him on Thursday morning, but he is not yet out of danger.

"He came in last night at around nine o'clock and was treated in the trauma room," she said. "He went for six-hour surgery and is in the intensive care unit. He had lost a lot of blood and got a transfusion in theatre. He has multiple injuries on his front and back and all over his whole body, but not his face.

"He is conscious: I spoke to him an hour ago and told him I would deal with the media. He also talked to his brother. It's difficult to say his feelings: he is in pain but he's doing OK."

Appelgryn added: "He's not stable and he's not critical, but somewhere inbetween. It's best to say he's in a serious condition. I can't say he's out of danger: with wild animals there is always the possibility of infection."

Varty has made more than 30 wildlife documentaries and written an autobiography entitled Nine Lives. His website, JV and the Big Cats, describes it as "memoirs of a maverick conservationist".

"Hunter, poet, musician, cameraman and game ranger, John Varty is South Africa's best-known, most controversial wildlife conservationist," it adds. "He has been living and working in the wild since early childhood, when his passion for nature was ignited."

Critics have accused Varty of making money from the tigers by promoting his farm as a tourist attraction.