On Saturday, October 10, a man in his 20s died after climbing into the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, where he was attacked by a 30-stone Amur tiger named Altai. Emergency services responded shortly after 1:30 PM, but the victim was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses describe the moments before the attack
Witnesses noted the man appeared agitated before scaling the fence, wearing AirPods and carrying a phone. He performed what looked like a dance to psyche himself up before entering, and once inside, he was heard yelling "Stop!" five times as the tiger attacked.
Zoo rangers quickly fired acoustic gas shots to scare the big cat back into its pen and secure it. Meanwhile, paramedics, including an air ambulance crew, provided medical aid while staff calmly evacuated the park and erected black privacy screens around the area.
Tiger unharmed and park closed for inquiries
Despite early online speculation that the big cat had been shot or harmed during the response, authorities confirmed that the tiger remained completely uninjured during the incident. Yorkshire Wildlife Park closed for the remainder of the weekend to allow police to conduct inquiries and support traumatised staff.
Park officials confirmed that Altai will not be euthanised as a result of the tragic event.
Hero woman's attempt to save the victim
Witnesses claim a hero woman tried to haul the victim back onto the viewing bridge, but he "pulled away from her" and jumped into the enclosure. While in the cage, witnesses claim the man tried to communicate with the tiger using a sign language gesture for 'bad'.
