Emergency situation at zoo after man allegedly jumps into tiger enclosure as witness says 'shots fired'
A man has been seriously injured after a tiger attacked him at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in England, on Saturday, October 10.
South Yorkshire Police said it received reports at 1:35 p.m. of a man entering a tiger enclosure at the park, according to a statement shared with UNILAD.
“The tiger has subsequently attacked the man and this has resulted in serious injury,” officers said.
“The tiger remained in the enclosure following the incident and there is no wider risk to the public,” police added.
Advert
The park was evacuated, and officers remain at the scene carrying out inquiries.
“Officers are working at pace to make contact with the man’s family and no further detail will be provided at this time,” the force said.
Videos of the incident are circulating online, and police have urged people not to share the ‘distressing’ footage. LADbible reports the footage appears to show a man in extremely close proximity to one of the big cats.
Alice, who was at the park at the time, told LADbible the situation was ‘very sudden’, with ‘a member of staff running around telling people to evacuate but wouldn’t say anything about why’.
“It felt chaotic,” she said. She added that people near her described being close to the tiger enclosure and seeing a young man climbing the fence into it.
“Some saying the tigers were shot, others saying it was gas canisters to spook them into their enclosures,” Alice said.
She said visitors were then made to walk the length of the park. “When we left we had to walk the length of the park and pass nearby the tiger enclosure and could see emergency services dealing with the scene from afar but not close enough to make out any casualties etc.,” she explained.
“I was with friends and their young children. Thankful we weren’t in the area at the time,” she added.
Another visitor, Tia Hanson, told The Star that at around 2 p.m. she noticed the walkway between the tiger enclosure and the exit had been closed. “There was an air ambulance and police everywhere,” she said.
“People are saying they heard a gunshot and they say someone either jumped in, or fell in,” Hanson added.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park closure after tiger incident
The park confirmed a ‘serious incident’ occurred at the tiger enclosure. “Our emergency response procedures were immediately activated, and emergency services are currently attending the scene,” it said.
“We are working closely with the authorities to ascertain exactly what happened. The safety and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and animals remain our highest priority.”
The park is closed and will remain closed on Sunday.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it responded after a call just after 1:30 p.m. “We sent a number of resources, including two land ambulances, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and a doctor,” a spokesperson said.
The describes itself as a ‘walk-through wildlife adventure’ and is home to lions, giraffes, tigers, leopards and black rhinos.
Its website says a 300-meter-long raised walkway runs through the ‘Land of the Tigers’ section.
Thomas Bamford