When you go to the zoo, it’s generally not the best idea to touch the animals. But last week, Janine Bauer, a visitor at Germany’s Halle Zoo, decided to break the rules for a very good reason – to save the life of a choking tiger cub.
When you go to the zoo, it’s generally not the best idea to pull the animals out of their enclosures – tigers, in particular. But last week, Janine Bauer, a visitor at Germany’s Halle Zoo, decided to break the rules for a very good reason – to save the life of a choking tiger cub.
Bauer, 24, was standing in front of the tiger enclosure with her one-year-old son, Johann, watching the beautiful felines eat their meal, when she noticed that the cub had begun to gag on a piece of steak.
“In front of my eyes, it passed out as it struggled to breathe,” she told The Age. “My son and I were so upset because he is such a beautiful creature.”
Since none of the zoo’s staff members were nearby when the disaster struck, Bauer and a fellow visitor, Torsten Westphal, decided to take matters into their own hands to save the choking cub, grabbing it and pulling it out of the enclosure – even though some none-too-friendly adult tigers were lurking nearby. (We wouldn’t recommend trying this method at your own local zoo, but luckily, all limbs remained intact.)
Once they’d pulled the distressed cub out of the enclosure, Bauer plunged her hand into the tiger’s mouth, pulling out a 10-centimeter strip of steak that the cub had swallowed a bit hastily. But even though she’d cleared his airway, the tiger still wasn’t breathing. Luckily, Bauer, a medical student, knew just what to do.
“I massaged his heart and then I did what I would do for humans — mouth to mouth resuscitation. It was just like trying to bring a human baby back to life. It went on for about four minutes,” she said.
“Then the tiger spluttered and coughed. He stood up dazed and weak. By then some zookeepers had arrived and we delivered him into their arms.”
In honor of Bauer’s heroic rescue, the zookeepers have decided to name the young cub, Johann, after her son.