Dutch tourist clings to tree for hours to survive Nepal tiger attack

Gerard Van Laar, 33, was hiking inside the Bardia National Park, located about 400 kilometers southwest of Kathmandu, with his guide on Saturday when the tiger attacked them, Kyodo reports.

"I was just very, very lucky," he told Kyodo News on Monday by phone from his hotel in Bardia district, where the park is located.

Laar set off hiking with his guide, Krishna, in the early morning on Saturday. In the late afternoon, they heard a big roar.

"I looked over my left shoulder and saw a fully-grown tiger coming at me at full speed," Laar, who is an engineer, said.

"We started running as fast as we could. Krishna was screaming and shouting at the tiger to make sure that it did not come after me, but went after him," he said.

While the tiger went after Krishna, Laar quickly took off his backpack and climbed a tree right next to him.

He clung on to the tree for two to three hours, after which park officials arrived on three elephants and rescued him.

"I stayed quiet at the height of six to seven meters from the ground," said Laar adding, "The tree was the safest place for me to be."

While Laar was up the tree, the tiger circled it, but never saw him, he said.

"I'm alive and kicking. So it's all good," he said.

His guide sustained minor injuries to his leg and arms from the tiger's attack and was briefly hospitalized.

"If it weren't for Krishna, I would have been dead," Laar said.

Bardia National Park, a protected area, attracts thousands of tourists every year. It is home to 50 tigers, according to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.