A woman who spoke to the man killed by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park has said he was "so happy" moments before his death. The witness, Del Taylor, said he asked her to take his picture before the incident.
Witness describes encounter
Ms Taylor, who was visiting the park with her boyfriend, said she had a brief conversation with the man shortly before he entered the enclosure of Altai, an Amur tiger. The park was closed on Sunday and remained shut on Monday following the fatal incident.
Witnesses said the man had been "pacing around" near a viewing walkway before entering the enclosure and falling around 12ft into the habitat, where he was then attacked by the 30-stone tiger, The Mirror reports.
'Stop, stop, stop'
During the ordeal, he was heard shouting "No, no, no" and "Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop" as the animal grabbed him by the neck. Police said the man suffered "serious injuries" and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Recalling their encounter, Ms Taylor said the man approached her moments beforehand and asked: "Can you grab a shot of myself with the tiger?"
"At first he was dancing on the bridge overlooking the enclosure. He ended up standing next to me," she told The Sun. "My partner was recording the tiger, and you can hear me having this interaction. You can hear him asking for a photo. I took a couple of him with his back towards the enclosure. I positioned the camera so I could get Altai in it with him."
'He was so happy'
Ms Taylor has now issued an update on the tragic incident in a two-and-a-half-minute TikTok video. In her video she says: "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."
"He was so happy and then he's come and placed himself next to us and he passed me his phone and he asked me for a photo. If you'd have seen him... you would understand why I'm saying what I'm saying."
"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."
She concluded her video by saying: "This is all I've got to say on the matter and there is going to be a social media silence from me until this dies down now."
Investigation launched
A health and safety investigation has been launched into the death, the site's licensing authority, City of Doncaster Council, has confirmed. The Health and Safety Executive earlier said it would not investigate the incident, confirming that the council would be responsible for the investigation.
The park has confirmed Altai will not be euthanised as a result of this incident. It is not yet clear when the park will reopen to the public.
