BANGKOK (AFP): A tiger that mauled the abbot of a Thai temple under fire over the welfare of dozens of big cats in its care “didn’t intend” to attack him, the monk’s doctor said on Monday. Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua in western Kanchanaburi province - commonly known as the “Tiger Temple” - is home to nearly 150 tigers and has long drawn tourists who flock there to be photographed next to the monks’ feline pets.
But the monastery has also had a controversial reputation among animal rights groups and Thai wildlife officials who say it is breaking the law in keeping the cats.
 On Saturday abbot Luang Ta Jan, 64, was admitted into intensive care at Thanakarn Hospital with injuries including a bleeding facial wound as well a broken arm and tooth, his doctor and hospital director Sahathep Sawarngnet told AFP. But Sahathep dismissed reports the tiger pounced on its owner and insisted the attack was accidental, triggered when Luang Ta Jan, who was pulling the tiger along by a lead, slipped and fell.