Here's another fine mesh you've got me into

The eye of the tiger, or perhaps more importantly the teeth, are a little too close for comfort.

But Arnd Drossel appears to have at least baffled the beasts, if not tamed them, with his spherical steel enclosure.

The German performance artist turned the conventions of the zoo on their head by putting himself inside a cage and allowing the big cats to view him as a curiosity.



His stunt was one stop on a 220-mile roll through the German state of North-Rhine Westphalia to raise money for, and awareness about, psychiatric patients.

He accepts that some observers will judge him 'a stripe short of a tiger' for including this particular area of the Stukenbrock Safari Park on his route.

But he insists his protective capsule - 250 high-grade steel strands welded into something resembling a massive ball of wool - is strong enough to keep him safe. Drossel, 38, who designs furniture for a living when not suffering for his art, will eat, sleep and move in the ball.