A 25-YEAR-OLD man has been mauled by a tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City after he jumped into a tiger enclosure.

The man is in a critical condition in hospital where he is being treated for deep cuts to his back.

He leapt 20ft from the Wild Asia monorail, a train with open sides that carries passengers along the top of a fence past elephants, deer and tigers.

Staff used a fire extinguisher to chase the tiger off.

Zoo director Jim Breheny said: "If not for the quick response by our staff, the outcome would have been very different."