Boy, 11, has his hand torn off by a tiger at Brazilian zoo after his father let him climb over safety barrier and stroke it in its cage

Boy cried 'I'm going to die' after attack in front of three-year-old brother

Witness: ' He was giving the tiger pieces of food, meat and stroking it'

A boy's hand was ripped off by a tiger after he climbed into a restricted area and stroked the animal through its cage.

Witnesses say the 11-year-old cried 'I'm going to die, I can't feel my arm' after he was mauled while reportedly trying to pass meat through the bars.

The victim's three-year-old brother is believed to have witnessed the attack at the zoo in Cascavel, Brazil.

Dicing with death: An 11-year-old boy strokes a tiger through its cage at a Brazilian zoo moments before the animal tears off his hand, leaving it 'dangling' from his arm

Reckless: The boy was reportedly trying to pass meat through the bars when the tiger went for his hand

Video uploaded to LiveLeak shows the victim being lifted back over the security barrier which his father had allowed him to clamber over despite warning signs.

Music teacher Ricardo Espindola, who helped the boy's father while they waited for the ambulance, said: 'He was giving the tiger pieces of food, meat and stroking it.

'I finished looking at the animals, left, then heard the screams.

''I'm going to die, I can't feel my arm': This video clip is believed to show the boy's father and three-year-old brother helping him moments after he was attacked

Irresponsible: The boy is lifted back over the security fence which his father had allowed him to clamber over despite signs warning of the danger 'He was in shock, talking nonsense': The boy lies on the floor waiting for paramedics to arrive

‘I went down and saw the father running with the boy with his arm hanging. I called the ambulance.

'He was in shock, talking nonsense, talking that he was going to die.'

The boy was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to hospital, where it is understood doctors partially amputated his arm.



According to zookeepers, the tiger, called Hu, is 'one of the sweetest' at the zoo.

Rapid response: The boy is treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to hospital