A man reportedly jumped into a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, with visitors claiming they heard shots fired. The park, near Doncaster, has been closed following the incident on October 10.
Incident at tiger enclosure
One visitor told YorkshireLive that someone "jumped into the enclosure," and a video published on Facebook shows a man sitting inside the pen with his arms folded and legs crossed, appearing to interact with the tiger before saying "Oi, no." Shots were then reportedly fired into the cage.
The visitor said: "It looks as if someone has jumped into the enclosure and they've had to shoot the tiger. People are saying they heard a gunshot and they say someone either jumped in, or fell in. There was an air ambulance and police everywhere. We've all been made to leave."
Emergency response and closure
Another witness described a large police and paramedic presence, with black tarpaulin erected around the tiger enclosure and a stretcher visible inside. "It wasn't nice - there were lots of people who looked really upset," they said.
In a statement, the park said: "We can confirm that a serious incident has occurred today at the tiger enclosure. Our emergency response procedures were immediately activated, and emergency services are currently attending the scene. 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 now closed and will remain closed tomorrow.
