Manama: A three-year-old boy in Saudi Arabia had a lucky escape after a wolf bit his hand, leaving a deep wound.
The wild animal was kept captive in a cage placed inside a shopping mall in Arar, in the north-east of the kingdom, near the Iraqi borders.
“The boy in a moment of inattention from his family, sneaked near the cage and was bitten in the hand,” a mall official said, quoted by Saudi daily Okaz on Sunday.
“The child was rushed to hospital where he was given urgent treatment and an investigation into the incident was launched. All the necessary measures were taken.”
The spokesperson for the police in the Northern Borders confirmed the incident, saying that the police had been notified about the incident.
“There is a legal case that was filed against the party that caused the incident and the investigations will determine all aspects related to it,” Awaid Al Enezi said. “We will reveal all details once the investigations are completed.”
Local residents said they were shocked that wild animals were kept inside a mall where families and their children shopped, relaxed and dined.
“I am shocked that the mall owners resorted to wild animals to attract people,” Khalid, a social user, posted. “Instead of wolves, they should have used colorful birds, for instance.”
Abu Sulaiman, another user, said that it was strictly irresponsible to bring wild animals to malls or shopping areas.
“At the very least, the most stringent security measures should be taken to ensure the safety of all people at all times,” he said.
Montasser said that wild animals should be kept only in zoos.
“The notion of entertainment, if there is any related to animals in captivity, it should be confined to zoos where the highest levels of security measures are taken,” he said.
The incident was the second involving a child and a wild animal in two months in Saudi Arabia.
A young girl had the scare of her life when she was attacked by a tiger during a promotion show.
The attack, captured by an onlooker, occurred in an open space near a market in Sakaka in the northwestern part of the kingdom.
Witnesses said that the tiger was being shown off as part of an entertainment programme featuring animals when it attacked the girl who started screaming.
The prompt intervention of the trainer rescued her from the wild animal, they added.
However, social media were buzzing with angry remarks that deplored the lack of security precautions, including fences.
“Even if the tiger is tamed, this was a dangerous situation that could have been fatal for the young girl or other spectators,” one user said, quoted by Saudi news site Sabq.
Khalid Al Mutairi, another user, said that the highest safety measures should be followed at all times as wild animals behave instinctively and dangerously.
“This is a wild animal and its instinct is to attack, so regardless of the time spent taming it, its nature never changes and its killing readiness remains strong,” he said. “All the necessary measures should be taken to ensure the highest levels of safety. Unfortunately, some people today look at keeping wild animals as a harmless fashion.”
In November 2013, a five-year-old Qatari boy was attacked by a baby leopard causing him serious injuries.
Fahad was attending the circus with his mother in the Qatari capital Doha when the cub pounced upon him after the show and held his neck in its jaws.
He was rescued thanks to the quick intervention of some of the spectators and the trainer who initially grabbed the leopard by its fur and pulled hard, but, as the animal did not let go of its victim, they punched and hit it until it did.
In March, a privately-owned lioness in Saudi Arabia mauled a Kuwaiti national to death after it broke loose from its rope and broke his neck. The victim was on a visit to his friend, the wild animal owner.
In December 2014, a Filipina domestic helper died in Kuwait five days after she was mauled by a lion kept by her employer as a pet.
Authorities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have often warned residents against keeping non-domestic animals in their homes or in majlises.
Keeping wild animals and exotic pets at home has turned into a fashion statement among the young and rich who see rearing them as a status symbol.
The phenomenon has taken ominous proportions as the purchase of illegal wild animals has become easy, mainly through social media platforms where they are advertised.
