By Jonathan Dienst and Shimon Prokupecz, NBCNewYork.com
Updated at 5:40 p.m. ET: NEW YORK --?A man jumped out of the Bronx Zoo's monorail into the tiger exhibit Friday afternoon, where he was badly mauled by one of the big cats before zoo employees rescued him using fire extinguishers, zoo officials said.
The man, believed to be around 25, severely injured his leg and foot in the attack, which happened just before 3:30 p.m., sources tell NBC 4 New York. He also has deep cuts to the back.?
Once the tiger backed away, the man was instructed to roll under a hot wire to safety, said Bronx Zoo Director Jim?Breheny in a statement. The keepers then called the tiger into its exhibit holding area and secured him there, Breheny said.
It appears the man jumped approximately 20 feet into the den, police said. Before rescuers could reach the man to help him, they first had to get the tiger into a cage, authorities said.
View latest developments on NBCNewYork.com
Zoo employees contained the tiger in a cage as EMTs rushed to the scene and treated the man, officials said.?
The victim was taken to Jacobi Hospital in critical condition.?
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Earlier this month, Amur tiger triplets debuted at the Bronx Zoo, born to mother Katharina and father Sasha.
Zoo animal maulings, while rare, have occurred before, and with deadly consequences.
A man was killed and two others injured on Christmas Day, 2007 at the San Francisco Zoo, when a 300-pound tiger named Tatiana escaped its cage.
Live video: View latest from tiger attack at the Bronx zoo
In 1985, a zookeeper, Robin Silverman, 24, was killed when she was attacked by two Siberian tigers at the Bronx Zoo while trying to clean their cage.
An 11-year-old boy was killed in 1987 by a polar bear at the Prospect Park Zoo after climbing into its enclosure when the zoo was closed.
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