The zookeeper bitten by a tiger at Australia Zoo said the animal was just reacting to the smell of another big cat.
Juma, a 130kg adult male Sumatran tiger, bit handler Mark Turner on the calf during a routine walk on Tuesday.
Mr Turner was taken to Nambour Hospital with a puncture wound.
In a video published on Australia Zoo’s YouTube channel, he said he knew Juma’s bite was not personal.
“I’d been walking another cat prior to him, and it was a cat he wasn’t very friendly with,” he said.
“We always keep them apart, but I had been walking him so the smell of the cat was on me, and he got quite excited by the smell, and that’s why he reacted the way he did.”
Mr Turner said he had been working with Juma for six years.
“I don’t hold any grudges against Juma, he’s an awesome cat, he’s got a really good personality, he’s a very affectionate cat,” he said.
“I know it wasn’t a personal thing against me, it was just because of the other cat smell that was on me.”
Mr Turner said he was recovering well.
“It’s just one of those unfortunate things and it’s soft tissue so it is going to take a little bit to heal,” he said.
“As soon as I’m healed up I’ll be straight back in there, I can’t wait to see the cats again.”
