A ZOOKEEPER was saved from a potentially deadly leopard mauling after a tiger leaped to his rescue.
Eduardo Serio was busy cuddling several white lions when he failed to notice a leopard sprinting rapidly towards him.
The fearsome creature could be spotted in the distance on the camera running up from behind Mr Serio, who works at Black Jaguar White Tiger, a big cat zoo in Mexico City.
But, just when the viewer fears the worst, a tiger manages to leap in to stop the leopard’s attack.
A tiger rushed to save the day after a leopard prepared to attack its keeper
The leopard, named Dharma, was stopped by the tiger, named Aztlan, who leapt up to stop the big cat before any damage was done to Mr Serio.
The video begins with the leopard slowly prowling behind Mr Serio as he attends to a group of relaxing lions.
The sneaky leopard soon starts to run at Mr Serio at speed, reaching him almost instantly and preparing to pounce.
But out of nowhere Aztlan swoops in to knock the leopard off its feet.
The domineering tiger wrestles the leopard to the ground, at which point Mr Serio realises what is occurring.
Dharma then appears to roll into a submissive position on his back.
A zookeeper is saved from a charging leopard when a TIGER comes to the rescue
Mr Serio appears to thank the tiger for stopping the potential gory cat attack.
The footage, taken in October last year, has gone viral again this week after spreading across social media.
The clip has been viewed more than 640,000 times since being shared on YouTube.
However, some online users were sceptical about the tiger’s behaviour.
Some have questioned whether the tiger was trying to save Mr Serio at all.
As he leans down with a group of white lions, the leopard can be seen in the background
Users online have pointed out that Aztlan might have just wanted to play with the leopard instead of saving anyone’s life.
One user wrote on YouTube: “The big tiger named Aztlan did not purposefully save some human.
“He was more likely interested in playing just as much as the leopard.”
The animal centre has become famous for its celebrity fans and millions of Instagram followers.
Black Jaguar White Tiger, launched in 2013, has seen celebrities such as Paris Hilton and the Kardashians come to visit.
source: express.co.uk
