Tiger Mauls Woman at Animal Theme Park

A woman whose birthday gift was a chance to pose for a photo with a Bengal tiger at an animal theme park was mauled by the cat Friday when she lost her balance and fell off a platform.

Jannell Waldo, 45, of San Jose was flown by helicopter to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek, where she was listed in serious but stable condition with multiple cuts to her neck and throat.

A male trainer was treated at a hospital for minor cuts suffered while separating the tiger and the woman at Marine World, park spokeswoman Stephanie Goodell said.

The attack occurred in a back area not accessible to the public at the theme park, which bills itself as the place “where fun runs wild.” Waldo was participating in the Phenomenal Program, in which visitors pay $250 to have their photos taken with wild animals.

When the woman fell, “this rapid movement startled the tiger and he moved aggressively toward her,” Goodell said.

The tiger, a 2-year-old male named Kuma, was isolated for observation. Marine World officials canceled all future public photo opportunities with its tigers.

In a similar attack Thursday, a boy visiting a North Dakota state fair exhibit was clawed by a Bengal tiger and had to undergo plastic surgery for several facial cuts.

The boy, 5-year-old Antony Gottus, was having his picture taken with the tiger when it apparently became unnerved by the crowd.