日本一飼養(yǎng)員被白虎咬死

A white tiger has mauled a zookeeper to death in its enclosure at a zoo in Japan, officials say.

據(jù)相關官員表示，日本一家動物園的一只白虎，在虎圈內(nèi)咬死了一名飼養(yǎng)員。

Akira Furusho, 40, was found bleeding from the neck in the tiger's cage at the zoo in the southern city of Kagoshima. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

在這家位于鹿兒島南部的動物園的虎籠內(nèi)，40歲的飼養(yǎng)員古莊晃被發(fā)現(xiàn)頸部出血。隨后他被送往醫(yī)院，但最終宣告死亡。

The male tiger, named Riku, was sedated with a tranquiliser before rescue workers and police arrived.

在救援人員和警察到達之前，這只名叫Riku的雄虎被注射了鎮(zhèn)靜劑。

It is to be kept alive following a request from the victim's family.

根據(jù)受害者家屬的要求，這只白虎將繼續(xù)存活。

"We plan not to kill Riku and continue to keep it because the bereaved family asked us to do so," said Takuro Nagasako, a zoo official said, quoted by the AFP news agency.

《法新社》援引動物園負責人田畔高士的話稱：“我們不打算殺死Riku，要繼續(xù)養(yǎng)著它，因為這是死者家屬的要求。”

Police are now investigating how the zoo looks after the four white tigers it keeps.

警方目前正在調(diào)查該動物園是如何照看園中飼養(yǎng)的四只白虎的。

White tigers are a rare variant of the orange Bengal sub-species and owe their colour to a recessive gene. Today, they are exclusively in captive programmes where the limited numbers are interbred to maintain the distinctive fur colour.

白虎是橙色孟加拉亞種的罕見變種，其顏色歸于隱性基因。如今這一數(shù)量有限的物種只能人工圈養(yǎng)，并通過異種交配以保持其獨特的毛皮顏色。