A witness described the chilling final moments before William Chapman was fatally mauled by a tiger at a UK wildlife park, revealing the last thing he saw as the attack unfolded. The 23-year-old died after entering the enclosure of Amur tiger Altai at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster on Saturday.
Witness Recounts the Attack
Eyewitness Anthony Hunt described seeing Mr Chapman get down in front of the animal after entering the enclosure. He told The Times: "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."
Mr Hunt said Mr Chapman then held his arms wide open in a gesture which he interpreted as saying: "Come here tiger. Kill me." He said the tiger then approached and attacked Mr Chapman, who began fighting back and screaming.
Mr Hunt said: "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, the tiger was on his neck."
Further Details Emerge
Another witness reportedly described Mr Chapman shouting at the animal and waving his finger at it during the attack. The witness said: "The tiger grabbed him by the neck. It all happened very fast. The tiger staff were in there quickly, and fired two shots to the ground to scare the tiger away from the man."
Mr Chapman had been seen elsewhere in the park shortly before entering the enclosure. Witnesses described him as "pacing around with his headphones in" and dancing near the enclosure. Footage also captured him asking visitor Del Taylor to take a photograph of him with the tiger behind him. He can be heard asking: "Excuse me, can you grab a shot of myself with the tiger?"
Mr Chapman then asked for further photographs, saying: "One more, one more, one more!" before ending the interaction with: "Thank you, lady." Ms Taylor later said Mr Chapman had been alone at the park.
Attempt to Stop Him
Another woman reportedly attempted to stop him as he began climbing into the enclosure. Mr Hunt said the woman "wasn't strong enough" to prevent him from entering, adding: "He overpowered her and jumped off." He said she appeared frightened and later told witnesses: "I tried to pull him back."
Emergency services were called to Yorkshire Wildlife Park shortly after 1.30pm on Saturday, October 10. Mr Chapman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Aftermath and Investigation
Yorkshire Wildlife Park later confirmed Altai was unharmed following the incident and would not be put down. The park said the tiger was "safe and well and will not be euthanized as a result of this incident". The wildlife park has said it is working closely with authorities to establish exactly what happened. It said in a statement: "The safety and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and animals remain our highest priority."
City of Doncaster Council, the licensing authority for the wildlife park, has launched a health and safety investigation into the incident. An inquest into Mr Chapman's death is due to be opened at Doncaster Coroner's Court on Thursday.
