Terrifying footage shows the moment a tiger leaps into a crowd of families and young children at a Russian circus after a sudden malfunction provides an opportunity to escape
Police in Russia have launched an investigation after a circus tiger dramatically broke free during a performance and leapt into the crowd.
Terrifying footage from the incident in Rostov-on-Don on Sunday shows the animal — kept captive as a circus act — running amok after a sudden malfunction gave it an opportunity to escape.
The clip, which has circulated widely online, begins by showing three tigers stood on stools as the ringleader and assistant pace around the stage, with a circular net separating them from the crowd.
Bu after what appears to be a drastic mechanical fault, the net is suddenly lowered – and the tiger takes only a couple of seconds to take advantage.
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The animal hops onto the metal circle before jumping into the spectator area below, drawing shocked gasps from the crowd.
Audience members are then seen standing up to get a view of the escaped animal, with a few of them immediately heading for the aisles.
Further footage, taken a minute or two later, shows seats largely deserted as the tiger wanders up and down the rows – though a few remaining members of the audience seem unbothered, filming on their phones or occasionally glancing back as the beast passes by.
Eyewitnesses described a scene of panic and confusion in the moment the tiger leapt free, with one telling local media: “The tigers got scared… and one jumped out into the audience.
“Children were screaming, adults running in panic.”
Another claimed the big cat “ran out onto the street” after the tent was evacuated by ushers. “The animal was running through the rows of seats where there were no people at all”, they said.
No-one was injured in the incident, with the tiger recaptured after being found a short distance from the tent. Circus director Nikolai Dovgaluk said: “The trainer put a collar on the tiger, led it to the enclosure, and brought it in without incident.
“It’s not that there was 100% no threat to the audience, but these are tame tigers, meaning they’re trained like tame animals. The most important thing is that there was no panic, and therefore, there was no incident because of that.”
He blamed the net falling on “employee error” and a “coincidence”, adding: “It’s impossible to even say anyone was directly at fault”.
Russia’s federal Investigative Committee announced a probe into potential safety violations on Monday.
Despite now being banned across much of the Western world as a result of stricter welfare laws, captive animals – including bears, elephants, and Siberian tigers – regularly feature in Russian circuses, appearing in the acts of popular troupes such as the Bolshoi and the Moscow State Circus.
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