The two persons injured in the Siberian tiger attack at the San Francisco zoo on Christmas day (that left one dead) appear to be brothers of Indian origin going by their names.

The two are Kulbir Dhaliwal, 23 and his younger brother Amritpal (Paul) Dhaliwal, 19 of San Jose, California.

Paul Dhaliwal is believed to be a close friend of Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, of San Jose, who was killed by the four-year-old Siberian tiger on Tuesday evening.

San Francisco police officials say the 300lb tiger first attacked one of the Dhaliwal brothers.

After Sousa and the other Dhaliwal brother tried to distract the female tiger “Tatiana” by yelling, it turned on Sousa and killed him by slashing him across his throat.

The Dhaliwal brothers are in the San Francisco General hospital with bite and claw wounds.

The San Francisco Zoo has admitted that the wall surrounding the Siberian tiger enclosure was lower (12.5 feet) than the recommended height of 16.4 feet.