William Chapman, believed to be in his early 20s, filmed himself approaching Altai the Amur tiger before he was mauled to death at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on Saturday. He was pronounced dead shortly after 1.30pm after being attacked by the big cat.
In the video, Mr Chapman was heard breathing heavily as he stalked the 30st (200kg) animal after scaling a perimeter fence and jumping into the enclosure. Members of the public cried out, “Oh my God” and “Seriously?” as he walked towards Altai on an elevated platform. Moments later, he was pictured sat on the floor as Altai repeatedly lunged at him.
Social media posts before the attack
In the days leading up to his death, Mr Chapman posted a number of bizarre pictures and videos to his social media. His Instagram account included a selfie taken at the gym, while another picture shows him holding a bible and a crossbow. In the image, shared on the day of his death, he has a crossbow bolt between his teeth and is wearing the same clothes he had on when he entered the pen. He also posted photographs of himself on a visit to the Pantheon in Paris and of a Greek-style helmet on a stand.
Eyewitnesses at the zoo told how Mr Chapman, who has not been formally named and was described as vulnerable by police, had been dancing to music. Eyewitnesses said he asked a park-goer to take a picture of him with Altai in the background. He then jumped into the enclosure as a woman desperately tried to hold him back, before dropping 12ft to the floor. When the tiger attacked, Mr Chapman screamed “stop” several times and appeared to make a gesture for “bad” in Makaton – a sign language system generally used by individuals who struggle to communicate.
Witness pleads with online trolls
A witness who took Mr Chapman’s final photograph fought back tears as she pleaded with “not very nice” trolls to think before they post. Del Taylor asked people joking about the attack online to “think about why maybe he’d do something like this”. An emotional Ms Taylor said it was “upsetting” to know she had taken the last photograph of him, and hit out at “not very nice” and “presumptuous” comments online.
In a video posted on TikTok she said: “I’ve seen a lot of speculation online about this person, this man, and a lot of it is not very nice, very presumptuous. I just wish people would take a moment to think about why maybe he’d do something like this. Maybe it was a lack of danger, awareness of danger. I just feel if somebody had seen this man like myself and a few other people had that day, and you’d seen him dancing his way up and down the bridge with his AirPods in. He was so happy. And then he’s come and placed himself next to us and he’s passed me his phone, and he’s asked me for his photo, and if you’d have seen him, without saying too much, you would understand why I’m saying what I’m saying.”
She continued: “It’s so upsetting to think that apart from that awful viral video of him being attacked by the tiger online that the last photo of that man probably alive is the one that I’ve taken on his phone for him. But, I’m just asking people to keep a broader mind on what’s happened.”
Incident details and aftermath
It is thought that Mr Chapman had been living in Doncaster around the time of the incident. He gained entry to the two-acre enclosure from a 300m-long raised viewing platform where about 20 people were standing when the incident took place. Horrified guests described how a woman with two children desperately tried to stop Chapman from clambering over the wooden balustrade and on to wire fencing protecting the enclosure. He pushed past her and jumped down into the enclosure as fellow guests expressed shock.
Anthony Hunt, 22, and Scarlet Hogan, 21, a pharmacy worker, from Goole, East Yorkshire, described seeing Chapman before the incident. Anthony said: “It looked like a performance. He got down where everyone could see him in the main viewing area. He was on all fours, praying and bowing down to the tiger. It was like he was waiting for the tiger. He had his arms wide open like he was saying, ‘Come here tiger. Kill me.’ Then the tiger came and started to attack him. He started to fight back and screamed. It was like he was just detached from reality. The last thing we saw was the tiger was on his neck.” Hogan said: “It is very bizarre and weird. He was speaking in a different language while he was praying.”
The incident is said to have lasted several minutes, with an emergency protocol triggered by zoo staff after Chapman was detected inside the enclosure. Rangers responded by firing shots from an acoustic weapon to scare off the tiger. Mr Chapman’s death triggered an evacuation at the park as rangers fired two shots to try to save him.
The zoo, which opened in 2009 and spans 260 acres, was closed for the fourth day in a row today as investigations into the incident continued. On Monday, City of Doncaster Council said that it would be carrying out a health and safety investigation after the incident, in line with its statutory duties. The zoo said the tiger would not be euthanised and was safe and well. South Yorkshire police has passed a file on the incident to Doncaster coroners court.
