Handler attacked by tiger at Aussie zoo

A man was injured when a Sumatran tiger swiped him with claws at an Australian zoo owned by the family of Steve Irwin, officials said.

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Brisbane, Australia - An animal handler was injured on Thursday when a Sumatran tiger swiped him with claws at an Australian zoo owned by the family of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, officials said.

The 35-year-old man was taken by ambulance in stable condition from Australia Zoo, north of Brisbane, to a hospital with claw wounds to his forehead and left arm, ambulance service spokesman Mark Fisher said.

He was discharged later Thursday.

The zoo was founded by Steve Irwin, a famed television personality and conservationist who was killed by a stingray in 2006.

His widow Terri Irwin continues to run the zoo.

“Hot day. One of our tigers got hot and bothered and scratched a keeper,” Terri Irwin tweeted. “Keeper is ok, tiger is ok.”

The zoo said in a statement that the handler was struck by a 12-year-old male Sumatran tiger named Ranu.

The statement said that when the handler approached the tiger to get him to change direction, “he swatted his paw resulting in a scratch on his left wrist, bicep and right side of the forehead.”

Government safety inspectors visited the zoo on Thursday.

AP