Two year old & a tiger: Too close for comfort

A powerful tiger extends a less than friendly paw - and for a horrifying moment it looks as if this little girl is about to become a tasty snack. Find out how she managed to appear just seconds away from certain death in this breathtaking picture.

A powerful tiger extends a less than friendly paw - and for a horrifying moment it looks as if this little girl is about to become a tasty snack.

Just inches away, the tiny two-year-old girl is close enough to feel the animal's breath on the back of her neck.

Yet Avery Thompson stands motionless, oblivious to the 370lb beast as he stretches out one of his deadly paws to touch her shoulder.

She appears to be just seconds away from certain death in this breathtaking picture, but little Avery is actually perfectly safe. Almos the Royal White Bengal tiger is behind a thick pane of glass!

The barrier is invisible in the photos which capture the extraordinary moment a tiger makes an attempt to interact with a child.

Avery only realises that Almos is so close when he taps the glass with his paw.

She turns round and comes face to face with the two-year-old tiger.

It was amateur wildlife photographer Dyrk Daniels who captured this startling sight when he was photographing the Bengal Tigers at Cougar Mountain Zoo, in Washington.

The 44-year-old said it was not until he looked at the pictures later that he realised little Avery appeared to be so dangerously close to the tiger.

'I did not realise to what extent it appeared that there was nothing between Avery and the Almos until I reviewed the photo,' he said.