BELGRADE, Serbia — A man was attacked and seriously injured today by an elephant as he rescued his grandchild who had snuck into the animal’s enclosure at the Belgrade Zoo, doctors and local media said.
The man suffered several broken ribs and severe injuries to the abdominal area and chest, but was in stable condition after surgery, Belgrade emergency hospital spokesman Drago Jovanovic said.
The attack follows a series of security incidents at the zoo in the center of the Serbian capital.
B92 television identified the man as 65-year-old Miroslav Petrovic. The station reported, quoting witnesses, that the child suddenly crossed over into the elephant’s enclosure. The man went after the boy and managed to lift him out over a wall, but was then hit by the elephant from the back, it said.
The elephant area is partly covered and separated from visitors by a wall and a ditch.
Zoo manager Vuk Bojovic refused to comment to The Associated Press, but told the official Tanjug news agency that the man “probably crossed over at the part of the wall that is used to feed the animal.”
Bojovic added that the area is properly secured with warnings to visitors. But past incidents already have prompted calls for the zoo to be relocated out of the city’s center to improve security and to give the animals more space.
Bojovic has insisted that the zoo remain where it is, located within a historic walled fortress complex that is Belgrade’s main tourist attraction.
In September, a baby kangaroo and its mother died after thieves tried to steal them from the zoo. The baby kangaroo escaped into the downtown area and wandered around the streets before it was hit by a car. The mother was found dead in her cage.
In another incident in 2007, the mutilated, lifeless body of a 22-year-old man was found in a bear’s cage. The young man apparently had fallen from a fortress wall above the cage.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
