Staring death in the face: Tiger kills student at zoo

Staring death in the face: Tiger kills student at zoo

This is the moment when a terrified trespasser stared death right in the face.

The crouching man was killed by the tiger at the New Delhi zoo on Tuesday after slipping into the big cat’s pen.

“The tiger grabbed the youth and killed him,”.. read and watch the video 

said Amitabh Agnihotri, director of the National Zoological Park in India’s capital.

Witnesses said the 19-year-old victim, identified only as as Maqsood, looked into the bloodthirsty cat’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity and begged for mercy.

“The man was cowering in fear and appeared to be pleading with folded hands to the tiger to spare him,” a witness said, according to Sky News.

Despite the pleas, the rare white tiger grabbed Maqsood by the neck and dragged him to a corner of its enclosure, which also houses five other white tigers.

Another witness said the tiger sunk his fangs into the man’s neck and took about 10 agonizing minutes to finish him off.

“We tried to throw sticks and stones at the tiger, but we could not save the youth,” the witness said.

Other witnesses said zoo officials botched any chance at a rescue by focusing on keeping people from seeing the attack.

“Instead of focusing on saving that person’s life, the security was focusing on shooing away the crowds,” an unnamed woman told local reporters, according to CNN.

It was not clear if the victim slipped or jumped into the enclosure, but witnesses said he ignored warnings to say away from its low walls, according to Agnihotri.

“We are all in a complete state of shock,” he added.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO.