A tiger forced its way out of its pen and mauled a zoo worker to death in the second tiger killing China has witnessed in a week, state media reported Monday.
Xinhua news agency said the tiger escaped at a zoo in the eastern province of Shandong on Sunday and seized its handler by the neck.
"We all started yelling, partly in fright and partly with hopes to distract the tiger's attention on its prey," said a witness who declined to be named.
"Zoo officials came instantly and drove the tiger away."
The keeper was sent to the People's Hospital in Laizhou but died shortly after.
The tragedy came a week after an eight-year-old boy was killed by two tigers at a privately-run zoo in Changde, central Hunan province.
The boy was mauled through the bars of a cage after scaling a fence to get a better view, state media reported.