A tiger mauled his trainer to death at a circus in northern Mexico in a shocking attack captured in an amateur video.

Police in the northern state of Sonora identified the trainer as 35-year-old Alexander Crispin Suarez, and said he was a US citizen. However, US authorities were not able to confirm his nationality.

The attack occurred late on Saturday during an evening performance of the Hermanos Suarez circus in the Sonora town of Etchojoa.

Amateur video circulated on media-sharing sites, showing the trainer jogging in circles around the tiger and another big cat, to make the two felines turn in circles on a large dais.

As the trainer jogged around on one pass, the tiger suddenly stops his spinning routine and reaches out and grabs the man, pulling him to the ground and mauling him.

Other circus employees immediately came to his aid, trying to drive the tiger off by hitting him with a metal stand.

However, the tiger continued attacking, and the trainer died at a hospital from loss of blood.

The attorney general's office for environmental protection said it had inspected the circus following the accident.

The office said the circus has valid permits to keep and display 11 Bengal tigers and other exotic animals.