Thiruvananthapuram | An employee was attacked by a tiger while cleaning its enclosure at the zoo here on Sunday, officials said.

Supervisor Ramachandran was attacked by the female tiger when he tried to change the drinking water in its cage from outside.

The tiger, translocated from Wayanad, attacked the employee from inside the cage. He suffered head injuries, Zoo and Museums Director Manju Devi said.

"Ramachandran is a supervisor at the zoo. He is also in charge of the tiger enclosure. The attack was really unexpected. The incident happened when he tried to change the drinking water inside the cage," she told a TV channel.

The big cat suddenly came running to the employee and hit him through the bars of the cage from inside, the director said.

As he was changing the water with his head down, he suffered a minor injury above the forehead, she said.

He was first rushed to the general hospital and then to the government medical college and was later discharged after being giving primary care and treatment, the director added.