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Meaning behind strange finger signal made by man mauled to death in tiger enclosure
The man recently mauled to death by a tiger in a Yorkshire zoo made a strange finger signal to the animal before being attacked - and its meaning may have just been revealed.
Over the weekend, footage emerged of an as-yet unidentified man who broke into a tiger's enclosure at a wildlife park in the North of England.
In a widely circulated video and screenshots, the man can be seen holding up a finger to the tiger to try and stop its deadly approach.
Now, experts are weighing in on the meaning behind this finger signal.
Finger signal meant to "distract" tiger before deadly attack
It has now emerged that the man mauled to death by the tiger in a wildlife park may have been trying to distract and even calm down the animal before its fatal attack.
In fact, it's now believed that the man (who has still not been named) was using sign language to try and communicate with the animal.
As he entered the enclosure, he could be seen trying to tell the tiger off with his little finger, putting it in front of the tiger to try and make it stop and listen to him.
Makotan is a language communication system that combines hand gestures, pictures, and speech to support language development.
In Makotan, making a fist and extending a little finger means "bad."
While not an official sign language, Makaton is often taught to people who have difficulties with communication or learning difficulties.
One person commenting on the use of Makaton by the man said on social media: "That poor young man who was clearly autistic, using Makaton to say No and Bad to the tiger and will have had no understanding of the risk to his life he had put himself in."
Full story behind man mauled to death in a tiger enclosure
Although the name and identity of the man killed by a tiger in the Yorkshire wildlife park is still unknown, the picture of events leading up to his death is now a lot clearer.
20 minutes before the deadly attack took place, the man was seen by eyewitnesses dancing on a bridge in the park whilst listening to music on his AirPods.
Before entering the tiger enclosure, he asked someone to take his picture with the tiger who would soon maul him in the background.
Then, at around 1:35PM on Saturday, the man entered the tiger enclosure. Despite his efforts to placate the animal, he suffered serious injuries after the tiger mauled him. He later died of his injuries.
The wildlife park in Yorkshire has assured worried commentators that the tiger responsible for the attack will not be euthanised.