A three-year-old who was mauled by Jaguars after falling in his display at a zoo in the American state of Arkansas on Friday is in critical condition, said a hospital spokesman. 

The boy was grabbed by the neck by one of two jaguars and feet per second cat after falling 15 feet (4.5 meters) in the enclosure at the zoo in Little Rock, his father and grandfather, who were with when it happened, told Little rock police. 

The boy suffered extensive lacerations of the scalp a depressed skull fracture and several stab wounds, the police report quoted a doctor at Children's Hospital in Little Rock Arkansas as saying. The wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, said the police report. 

Father and grandfather said the child threw a camera bag and a reel of empty water hose in animals, causing them to fall from the child, according to the police report. 

When he reached the zoo staff went on display and used extinguishers to keep the Jaguars at bay until the rescue was completed, according to police. 

Authorities said they were trying to establish how the child fell into the outdoor exhibit at the zoo, one of the state's most popular attractions. 

A hospital spokesman declined to identify the boy, citing the family's request for privacy and patient age. 

The child's family lives in Little Rock, a suburb of Little Rock, according to the police report. 

The jaguar exhibit has been closed to the public pending the incident, a spokeswoman for the zoo.