Saturday afternoon a man climbed into the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in England and was mauled to death by Altai, a young male Siberian tiger. The big question since then was what would happen to the tiger. Sunday morning, the park answered: nothing.
The man, still unidentified, climbed into the 2-acre “Land of the Tigers” enclosure around 1:35pm local time. Witnesses said he had been dancing with his AirPods in at the viewing area and asked a stranger to take his picture with the tiger behind him. He came alone. One witness told LADbible she tried to stop him.
“I tried to stop him.”
Witness, via LADbible
Keepers fired shots into the air to try to pull the tiger off, according to regional reports. Police say videos of the attack are circulating online and asked the public not to share them. The park stayed closed Sunday while the staff who witnessed it got specialist support.
“The tiger was not doing anything wrong by being a tiger. A tiger is a powerful wild predator, and no amount of captivity, training, or familiarity can change that.”
Carole Baskin, “Tiger King” star, to the New York Post
The park says Altai is “safe and well” and that euthanasia was never on the table. The man wanted to play with the tiger. The tiger did what tigers do.
SEE ALSO: A Man Climbed Into the Tiger Enclosure at a Wildlife Park in England. The Tiger Mauled Him. / A Georgia Cop Said a Baby Donkey Attacked Him. The Bodycam Shows It Just Walked Up to Say Hello.