Yorkshire Wildlife Park in South Yorkshire, United Kingdom, remains closed after a man climbed into a tiger enclosure and was fatally attacked by the animal on Saturday. According to the BBC, emergency services were called to the park near Doncaster at about 13:30 BST after reports that the man had…...
Yorkshire Wildlife Park in South Yorkshire, United Kingdom, remains closed after a man climbed into a tiger enclosure and was fatally attacked by the animal on Saturday.
According to the BBC, emergency services were called to the park near Doncaster at about 13:30 BST after reports that the man had climbed down into the enclosure from a visitor walkway.
The man died at the scene, police confirmed, while the park said its thoughts and sympathies remained with his family. The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated by the authorities.
A spokesperson for Yorkshire Wildlife Park confirmed that the Amur tiger involved in the incident, named Altai, remained in its enclosure and would not be euthanised.
The spokesperson said the park had received numerous enquiries about the animal and assured the public that he was “safe and well”.
The park also said staff who witnessed the incident and were “deeply affected by events” would receive specialist support.
Earlier on Saturday, the park said its emergency response procedures had been “immediately activated” and that it was “working closely with the authorities to ascertain exactly what happened”.
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An eyewitness, Ella Ford, 24, from Moreton, Wirral, who was visiting the park with her boyfriend, said she saw the man “pacing around with his headphones in” near the enclosure before he “climbed up onto the barriers”.
Ford said a woman was nearby talking to the man before “he jumped in and crawled in front of the tiger, where the tiger was perched and just lay there”.
She said she then witnessed the tiger grab the man, who was “shouting for help”.
Ford estimated that about 15 to 20 people were on the enclosure’s raised visitor walkway before staff quickly evacuated the area and subsequently the park.
She described members of the public as being “confused, like what on earth’s going on?”
“I just know some man was obviously trying to bang on the fence to try and deter the tiger away, but it obviously wasn’t doing anything,” she said.
Another visitor, Karmelle Pelham, 39, from Worksop, said she had been enjoying a family outing when park staff informed them that the site was being evacuated.
She said she heard what sounded like “gunshots” and noticed an air ambulance circling overhead.
“There was a big, black tarpaulin over the tiger enclosure,” Pelham said.
She praised the park staff for their handling of the incident, describing the evacuation as “very, very well organised”.
South Yorkshire Police said officers were supporting the deceased man’s family.
“Our thoughts are with them at this distressing time,” the force said in a statement.
The police also addressed videos of the incident circulating online, saying: “We are aware of videos circulating online and we would encourage people not to share this footage.”
Foreign Secretary and Doncaster North MP Ed Miliband said he was “deeply saddened” by the incident and offered his “thoughts and deepest condolences to the family of the individual who died”.
He added that he was “very grateful to the emergency services and staff of the park who responded”.
Lee Pitcher, MP for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, also expressed his gratitude to emergency services, saying he was “deeply saddened to hear about the tragic incident that has taken place at Yorkshire Wildlife Park today”.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park opened in 2009, with its Land of the Tigers area opening in 2011. The purpose-built two-acre reserve is home to Amur tigers, an endangered subspecies with around 500 left in the wild.
The park’s closure follows the fatal incident as authorities work to establish exactly what happened.