BANK holiday visitors watched in horror as a Hampshire zoo's new prize exhibit was mauled to death before their eyes.

A three-month-old Amur leopard cub was attacked by its father in front of shocked day-trippers at Marwell Zoo near Winchester.

An investigation into the death, which happened at about 6pm yesterday, was today under way.

Tiny female leopard Amirah was making one of her first public appearances when tragedy struck.

Amirah is Marwell's first Amur leopard cub and was born on Christmas Eve 2004 to Ascha and Akin.

Mum and baby were kept separate from dad in adjoining cages but onlookers believe that somehow the cub managed to escape into Akin's enclosure.

Shocked eyewitness Maggie Bradley, an amateur photographer from Hythe, was visiting the zoo with her 23-year-old daughter and her daughter's boyfriend.

She told the Daily Echo: "It was a horrible ending to a lovely day and was very upsetting. We had been really looking forward to seeing the leopard cub because it was one of the zoo's main attractions.

"It jumped onto some rocks and the mother tried to follow her a few times but she couldn't get to her so went into her cave.

"After five to ten minutes, the mother came out of the cave like a bat out of hell making a ferocious noise and she climbed onto the rock.

"My daughter said, 'The father's got the baby!' When I looked he had the baby in his mouth in his cage and was shaking it and mauling it. There was blood and he must have broken its neck or something."

Amirah's birth was a major coup for the zoo at a time when the species in the wild is facing its most serious threat. The Amur leopard is on the verge of extinction, with only 30 remaining in their natural habitat.

The incident took place near to closing time and was also witnessed by two teenage children.

A spokesman for Marwell Zoo confirmed that an investigation was taking place including a review of the area where the Amur leopards are kept.

The spokesman added: "Marwell is totally devastated by this event which is greatly regretted. The cub represented a successful breeding of a very rare animal."