A cheetah attacked and seriously injured a seven-year-old boy at a travelling circus in the Moscow region, Russian investigators said Sunday. The cheetah attacked the son of circus staff after a performance in the town of Domodedovo on Saturday evening, goring his face and neck, the Investigative Committee said in a statement. The boy was hospitalised with wounds and blood loss and underwent emergency surgery, investigators said, adding that they were checking safety procedures at the circus. The injured boy is the son of the animal’s trainers, and the big cat attacked him as it was being put back into its cage after a performance, the Vechernyaya Moskva daily reported, citing local police. Russia has a number of poorly regulated travelling circuses that keep big cats in cramped and unsafe conditions and animal attacks on children are a regular occurrence.
