A crocodile attacks and wounds a zookeeper in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM — A crocodile attacked a zookeeper in Jerusalem on Sunday, leaving him hospitalized with severe injuries on his upper body, officials said.

Israeli police said a security guard at the zoo likely saved the man's life by firing stun bullets at the crocodile. It was not immediately clear if the animal was injured.

Jerusalem's Ein Kerem Hospital said the 45-year-old man was immediately taken into surgery.

The zoo first opened in 1939 in the city center as a petting zoo and moved to southern Jerusalem in 1992. Today it hosts dozens of species from around the world and an aquarium.