A shocking incident saw a black panther brutally maul a man to death at a Russian zoo, after he climbed inside the animal’s cage to feed it.
The Ukrainian victim's mutilated body was found with multiple bites to the throat in the animal’s enclosure at a private zoo in Moscow.
The male big cat, names Milan bit through the man’s neck after pouncing on the victim as soon as he unlocked the entrance to the beast’s lair.
Reports say Milan was caught several hours later following a major search after it escaped through the cage’s open door.
Initial reports said the dead man was a keeper who had entered the cage to feed the predator, but the zoo's owner Sergey Knyaginichev denies the man worked for him claiming he was merely a visitor, who was staying with friends nearby, and should have never stepped inside the cage.
However, Knyaginichev, who is described in local media as the general manager of Business Aero Airlines - did not explain why the man was wearing a keeper’s uniform when he was killed.
The attack took place at a private zoo in the village of Obnovlenny Trud - meaning Renewed Labour - in the Moscow region’s Istra district.
