tiger

Florida Trainer Clawed on Legs by Tiger at Fair as Children Look On

An elementary school student on a class field trip captured cellphone video of the incident

A female trainer at a Florida Panhandle fair was hospitalized after being clawed on the legs by a tiger and dragged around the cage as children looked on.

Vicenta Pages suffered several cuts Tuesday when a 2-year-old Bengal tiger named Gandhi "got too playful" and scratched her before pulling her by the leg across the cafe floor, Pensacola Interstate Fair publicist Katie King told the Pensacola News Journal.

An elementary school student on a class field trip captured cellphone video of the incident and her father posted it on YouTube Tuesday.

The video shows another employee, identified by King as Pages' husband, entering the cage and beating the animal until it released the woman's leg.

King said Pages stood up unassisted and talked to the children before going to a hospital. King adds Pages wasn't bitten.

The fair was closed at the time and no children were hurt during the field trip showing.

The White Tiger Show was canceled for the remainder of the fair, which runs through Sunday.

Animal Control officials weren't called, and King says the tiger won't be harmed.

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