You can’t help thinking that if you lock up and tease the most powerful land killer on earth, chances are, one day he’s going to have just had enough. Well, this exact scenario came to pass the other day in Madrid, where Danny Gottani, a 35-year-old chap who has been working with tigers since he was 18.

Gottani, who is part of the Gottani Circus, was just getting going on his routine when the said beast leaped on him. Video footage shot by an audience member (available on YouTube) shows Gottani trying to beat the tiger off. Smoke is realeased to confuse the animal and another member of the troop enters the cage and tries to beat the tiger into submission.

Although Gottani’s injuries are not life threatening, local news reports did say that they are serious. Gottani’s mother, who was in the audience at the time of the attack, needed urgent medical treatment after suffering a server panic attack.

(news,national)