Yorkshire Wildlife Park has confirmed that the tiger which mauled a man to death at the attraction near Doncaster will not be put down. In a statement on Sunday, the park said Altai the tiger is “safe and well” and will not be euthanised as a result of the incident.
The man suffered fatal injuries in the tiger enclosure on Saturday afternoon. Emergency services, including police and paramedics, were called to the park at 1.30pm after reports of a man in the enclosure. South Yorkshire Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Park statement and closure
A spokesperson for the park said: “We thank everyone who has expressed their concern following yesterday's tragic incident. Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies remain with the loved ones of the man who tragically lost his life.
“The park will be closed today and the staff team who were deeply affected by events will receive specialist support. Many, many people have contacted us about Altai, the tiger. We can reassure everyone that he is safe and well and will not be euthanised as a result of this incident.”
Witness accounts and reports of shots
A visitor claimed someone “jumped into the enclosure”, with a video of the incident published to Facebook. The footage shows a man sitting down with arms folded and legs crossed as he appears to tackle and play with the tiger before saying “Oi, no”. It then appears that some sort of shots were fired into the cage.
One visitor said: “It looks as if someone has jumped into the enclosure and they’ve had to shoot the tiger. People are saying they heard a gunshot and they say someone either jumped in, or fell in. There was an air ambulance and police everywhere. We’ve all been made to leave.
“When you’re leaving you have to walk past the tiger enclosure and they’ve put up all sort of black tarpaulin so you couldn’t really see. But there were loads of police and ambulance people and a stretcher in the enclosure as well.
“It wasn’t nice - there were lots of people who looked really upset.”
Park response and Altai's arrival
The park said in a statement: “A serious incident has occurred today at the tiger enclosure. Our emergency response procedures were immediately activated, and emergency services are currently attending the scene.
“We are working closely with the authorities to ascertain exactly what happened. The safety and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and animals remain our highest priority. The park is now closed and will remain closed tomorrow.”
Altai arrived at the park in March 2025 and was described as a “nice and calm tiger” who “loves his training, eating and playing in the water outside”. Director of Animals Charlotte MacDonald said at the time: “We are delighted with Altai. He is a beautiful, huge cat and very calm and receptive.
“It will take him a while to settle in at the Park as it is a big change for him but hopefully he will be out in the Land of the Tiger in the coming weeks.”
