Caged Tiger Mauls Circus Worker in Egypt, on Terrifying Video

A tiger mauled a circus performer in Egypt, nearly ripping off the man's arm ... and, it was all caught on shocking video.

The wild scene went down earlier this week in Tanta, a city about 60 miles north of Cairo ... when one of several tigers in a large enclosure clamped down on a performer's arm through the cage's metal bars.

There's a lot of screaming and scattering audience members as the tiger rips at this dude's limb ... and, while a number of circus staff run to the worker's aid, it does little to deter the massive cat.

The tiger's jumping back, pulling with its full body weight, clamped on the limb like it's trying to rip the arm clean off the man ... and, the sticks and whips circus staff are using aren't stopping the killing machine from its vicious attack.

Eventually, the tiger releases the victim ... and, he was reportedly rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors amputated the limb.

The circus worker is said to have put his arm through the cage ... which is why the tiger grabbed him. The tiger has reportedly been removed from performances and is heading back to Cairo for retraining.

It goes to show -- a circus might be a perfectly choreographed event ... but, those big cats have minds of their own.