Reporter Chris Riches was among the first visitors through the gates of Yorkshire Wildlife Park as it reopened following the death of William Chapman, and was immediately struck by an eerie silence at the entrance to the 150-acre zoo near Doncaster at 9.45am on Friday.
The park reopened six days after Chapman, 24, who had schizophrenia, climbed into the enclosure to confront Altai the Siberian tiger. Staff were polite and appeared thankful for the visit, possibly fearing that the global spread of the tragedy—including cruel memes by US President Donald Trump—would keep visitors away.
Unexpected scene at the tiger enclosure
Riches and photographer Andy Stenning made the 10-minute trek to the tiger enclosure, nestled in the heart of the zoo. He expected the two-acre 'Land of the Tigers' enclosure to be fenced off for visitors, but instead found four security guards prowling the wooden walkway that overlooks the two tiger pens—one for five-year-old male Altai and the other for the older female Tschuna, who has been there since 2013.
Walking to the spot where Chapman is believed to have entered the enclosure, Riches was shocked: apart from the huge drop down, it didn't look as hard as he thought. The walkway stretches across the entire front of the two adjacent enclosures, about four metres up in the air, allowing visitors to look down into the paddocks.
The chilling realisation
If someone climbs onto the top of the walkway's one-metre-high wooden barrier, the top of the five-metre-high metal perimeter fence is in front of them at a 45-degree angle. At the tip of that metal fence is one strip of metal that has been electrified, but distance-wise that is just about one metre from the top of the wooden barrier. If a person stood on the barrier and leapt forward one metre, they would be teetering at the very top and edge of the metal perimeter fence—with a five-metre drop down into the enclosure.
This is something Yorkshire Wildlife Park, South Yorkshire Police, health and safety chiefs and Doncaster Coroner's Court will surely probe as they examine just how and why Chapman entered the enclosure. Today Altai was in the second paddock, while Tschuna was in the larger enclosure complete with waterfall—the one Chapman climbed into last Saturday, where he died.
Face to face with the tigers
Riches soon spotted Altai walking out of his indoor area clenching a huge slab of raw meat between his jaws. He described the tiger as enormous and terrifying, and said the fear Chapman must have felt despite his mental health issues does not bear thinking about.
Aside from security, only a handful of visitors shared the sight with him; he had expected hundreds to flood the walkways to see the 440-pound creature. Trump has been widely criticised for his insensitive AI video posted on social media this week, showing him playfully wrestling with a tiger before the pair pose for a selfie together.
Standing face to face with both tigers, Riches said you can only be in awe of them as nature's top predators—and shiver in horror as you ponder just what made Chapman do what he did.
