Magic kiss saves choking tiger cub

A German medical student visiting a zoo in the eastern German city of Halle used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to save a tiger cub choking on a piece of meat, according to media reports Saturday.

The 24-year-old young mother, Janine Bauer, was passing the enclosure with her son in Berg Zoo when she noticed the 4-monht-old tiger choking in December 2007.

"The little baby tiger was gnawing meat off a bone. All of a sudden he couldn't breathe and lost conciousness," said Bauer, "My son and I were so upset because he is such a beautiful creature."

She asked a keeper to let her into the pen and to hold the prone feline down. She was able to pull the 10 cm chunk of meat out of the tiger's windpipe, but he did not regain consciousness on his own.

So Bauer performed CPR on the cub, using heart massage to jump-start the young tiger's pulse and locking lips to chops to breathe air back into his lungs.

"It took three to five minutes, but he revived in the end," Bauer said.

In gratitude, the zoo's director announced that the tiger would be named Johann -- just like Bauer's son on the ceremony held on Friday to thank Bauer.

(Agencies)