THIS is the moment a Russian circus descended into chaos after a performing tiger jumped out of the ring and into the audience.
Shocking footage from inside the tent was captured by audience members, showing the moment one of three performing tigers went rogue.
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.
The circular netting was pulled up almost immediately, but it had been too slow for the quick-thinking tiger.
Startled by the sudden movement, one of them jumped from the stool and ran towards one of the instructors as the second tiger took its chance and jumped into the crowd.
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 giant creature got closer 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.
The surprise act from the man-eating beast caused spectators to scream – which can be heard in the background audio of the videos.
Reports from the circus have since indicated that there were miraculously no casualties.
“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 deadly big cat was eventually caught by its keepers, authorities reported.
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.
