THIS is the terrifying moment a circus descends into chaos after a performing tiger jumps out of a broken ring and prowls around the audience.
Shocking footage from inside a tent shows one of three performing tigers going rogue after the makeshift stage malfunctions – letting the beasts run loose.
The tiger leapt over the net into the crowd, shocking the spectatorsCredit: East2West
The cat had been startled by the protective net suddenly dropping around the stageCredit: East2West
The huge beast sauntered through the crowd before one of the circus staff approached it to take back to the stageCredit: East2West
The trio of cats had been sitting placidly on stools in the ring when the protective net around the performers suddenly dropped to the ground at the Dovgaluk Circus in Russia.
The circular netting was pulled up almost immediately, but it was too slow for the quick-thinking tiger who climbed out and headed straight for the families in the audience.
Videos show the moment the big cat sauntered through the crowd as children and their parents froze in fear.
Some panicked audience members began to flee the big top in Rostov-on-Don when the striped creature got too close to them.
Authorities told the audience to ignore their instinct to run, advising them to stay calm and in their seats so the big cat wouldn’t be spooked.
There were miraculously no casualties with circus staff able to shepherd the tiger backstage after it even managed to flee the tent entirely.
The tiger was later found out on the street.
“The performance started at 3 pm and the net suddenly fell,” a local media outlet reported.
“The tigers got scared … and one jumped out into the audience.
“Children were screaming, adults running in panic.”
A witness said the tiger almost “immediately ran out onto the street”, as circus staff started evacuating people seated closest to the tiger.
“The animal was running through the rows of seats where there were no people at all,” they said.
People were also seen sitting nearby the tiger as a single tamer tried to catch the beast.
The incident has sparked more pressure for a ban on performing wild animals in Russian circuses.
There were also specific safety concerns over this event.
The travelling circus boasted performances from tigers, lions and “other majestic animals”.
A witness said the incident could have turned nasty at any second.
“This might have been a real massacre by a scared wild animal,” they said.
Circus director Nikolai Dovgaluk released a public statement following the ordeal.
“The trainer put a collar on the tiger, led it to the enclosure, and brought it in without incident,” he said.
“It’s not that there was 100 per cent no threat to the audience, but these are tame tigers, meaning they’re trained like tame animals.
“The most important thing is that there was no panic, and therefore, there was no incident because of that,” he said in an attempt to reassure the public.
He blamed the net falling on “employee error” and a “coincidence”.
“It’s impossible to even say anyone was directly at fault,” he said.
