Starving beasts: Young Siberian tigers feast on a rare white Bengal tiger at the wildlife park in eastern ChinaThese horrific images show three young tigers killing and feeding on a young cub at a safari park in eastern China, apparently because they had not been properly fed.
The shocking photos of Siberian tigers eating a rare white Bengal cub were taken by visitors touring the wildlife park in Rongcheng, Shandong province.
'At first we thought they were playing but then they got the cub on the floor,' said an appalled onlooker.
Vicious attack: Horrified visitors said they could not see meat anywhere and the tigers looked hungry'Then while two of them pulled at its legs, the other bit into its neck. From then on the poor thing was food as far as they were concerned.
'We couldn't see any meat anywhere and they looked like they were hungry. It was shocking.'
Zoo officials have denied claims that the young tigers turned on the cub because they hadn't been fed.
A spokesman said: 'Young big cats practice their hunting skills all the time and we think that's what happened here.
'It's a terrible tragedy as both these breeds are endangered in the wild.'
Exotic location: Zookeepers at the park in Rongcheng, Shandong province have denied claims the tigers turned on the cub because they hadn't been fedThe Siberian tiger is the biggest cat on earth and would not normally come into contact with other species of tiger in the wild.
If a rogue tiger invaded its territory, it would have no hesitation in attacking, but it would normally eat other large animals.
Siberian tigers will scavenge a tiger carcass if sufficiently hungry, but do not like the taste of carnivores' meat, especially that of their own kind.
The Siberian male has been known to kill the cubs of others, but this is generally to bring the mother into heat and mate with her. The cubs are only eaten because in nature nothing goes wasted.
This level of desperation normally comes about if the tiger is old and injured, or sick.
source: dailymail
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