Tiger towers over terrified man seconds before mauling him to death in terrifying snap

Terrifying snaps of people seconds before they were fatally attacked by animals have re-emerged after yet another incident in recent days

A chilling picture shows a tiger towering over a man seconds before mauling him to death.

The image has resurfaced after a skier captured her own brush with death when she posed for a selfie with a snow leopard. The picture shows the skier beaming cheerfully beside the wild creature on the pistes of Koktokay in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

However, shortly after the photograph was snapped, the leopard pounced in a savage attack, clawing at her face and nearly dragging its fangs across her head. Blood from her injuries also splattered across her purple ski outfit, which seemed to have been left crimson-stained as she was transported to hospital.

Medical staff subsequently confirmed the woman had avoided life-threatening harm from the assault, and remained in a stable condition.

People aren’t always so fortunate when venturing close to nature’s apex predators. Here, we revisit spine-tingling photographs of beasts captured just before they savagely killed their human victims.

Tiger fixation

Maqsood Khan, 22, harboured an “obsession with tigers” and after scaling into a white tiger’s enclosure at New Delhi Zoo in 2014, he predictably faced a tragic conclusion.

Once inside, he caught the attention of Vijay, an endangered tiger, and appalled spectators recorded the subsequent carnage.

Maqsood was grabbed by the throat and hauled back to the animal’s den where the young man’s destiny was determined. A bystander described hearing screams before discovering the man “writhing badly in pain” while trapped within the tiger’s jaws.

His mangled body wasn’t retrieved for two hours until the tiger was eventually lured into a small enclosure.

Authorities subsequently held Maqsood responsible for the “misadventure”, stating he had chosen to disregard warnings before entering the tiger’s habitat.

Bear attack

Charles Gibbs, 40, possessed an enormous passion for bears, and in April 1987, he embarked on a mission to capture the perfect photograph that would ultimately prove fatal.

He was traversing Glacier National Park in Montana when he photographed bears from a distance.

Yet, after taking another shot, this time much nearer at merely 50 yards from the creatures, it captured the female grizzly bear and her three cubs racing towards him, creating a haunting image.

In terror, Charles raced down the mountainside and scrambled up a tree before the mother bear allegedly dragged him down. She then mauled and clawed him.

Though he momentarily escaped, the bear attacked once more, killing him.

He had been trekking Elk Mountain with his wife Glenda when the catastrophe occurred.

Following the discovery of his body, assistant park superintendent Alan O’Neill stated that Charles “knew what he was getting into” and remarked: “The human in this case was the intruder.”

At the time of his demise, Charles was carrying a firearm, though his wife insisted he wouldn’t have hurt the bear in such a manner.

Safari slaughter

In 2016, another deadly animal attack involving a tiger took place, this time at the Badaline Wildlife Park in Beijing.

Chinese woman Mrs Zhao exited her vehicle to save her daughter, Mei, who had come face-to-face with a Siberian tiger after violating park regulations by stepping out of the car following a family row.

Mei was hauled into the bushes by the tiger as her mother frantically rushed to assist.

The terrifying events that unfolded were recorded on spine-chilling CCTV footage. Her mother and husband were spotted dashing to help when a tiger attacked.

Tragically, Mrs Zhao met a horrific fate at the claws of a second tiger concealed in the vicinity.

The wildlife park was temporarily closed for investigation but reopened after authorities determined it bore no responsibility, despite the victim’s relatives pursuing legal proceedings.

Spine-chilling audio

A couple, who regularly posed in now haunting photos with bears, had their chilling final moments caught on audio.

Timothy Treadwell, who dubbed himself ‘Grizzle Man’, and Amie Huguenard were in the Alaskan wilderness in October 2003 when they were mauled to death by a bear.

Grizzle Man unknowingly captured his last moments on video camera and could be heard screaming: “Get out! I’m getting killed out here!”.

He had devoted 13 summers living alongside wild brown bears in Alaska. In the harrowing recording, his terrified girlfriend screamed “play dead” after emerging from their tent to aid him.

The bear released its grip momentarily, but then hauled him away, as Timothy pleaded with her to “hit the bear”. His partner resorted to using a frying pan before her blood-curdling screams echoed, moments before the camera abruptly stopped recording.

The couple were tragically devoured and Timothy’s head was later found nearby.

The beast was later shot dead, with four bin bags filled with human remains found within its stomach.