Chvojenec, Czech Republic - In the Czech Republic, a privately owned tiger bit off the hand of a woman who tried to pet him.

The 66-year-old was stabilized for transport and taken to hospital, a spokesperson for the rescue service said on Monday, according to the CTK agency.

According to initial police reports, the woman held her hand inside the enclosure to stroke the predator, although she had been repeatedly warned against doing so.

The owner of the predator, a relative of the woman, was not there at the time of the accident.

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According to the information on his website, the man keeps not only tigers, but also pumas, desert lynxes, lions and leopards. He has 20 years of experience in this field. The police are now checking whether safety regulations have been violated.

The accident happened in the village of Chvojenec, about 14 kilometres southeast of Hradec Kralove.