The tiger that mauled to death a man who voluntarily entered its enclosure at a wildlife park in northern England will not be euthanised even though it has tasted human flesh and blood.
As Breitbart News reported, emergency medical personnel responded to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near the city of Doncaster after the incident was reported at about 1:35 p.m. on Saturday.
The victim died at the scene. The tiger was not injured and remained inside the enclosure during the tragic event, local police confirmed.
The wildlife park issued a statement Sunday and thanked those who had expressed concern and said their “thoughts and heartfelt sympathies” remained with the family of the man who died in the tragedy.
The statement detailed the park remained closed and the staff team “who were deeply affected by events will receive specialist support.”
The park added the rare Amur tiger, called Altai was “safe and well and will not be euthanised” after the incident.
One visitor at the park, Marie Miller, wrote in a Facebook post reported by the Guardian she had seen the man before the incident and he was “happily enjoying” his visit.
Miller said the now deceased man had asked a stranger to take a picture of him.
“The man who I saw on the bridge with his earpods in dancing was happily enjoying seeing the tiger,” the post read.
“He asked a total stranger to take a picture of him with the tiger in the background.”
The BBC reports Dr Campbell Murn, a previous member of the government’s zoo expert committee and lecturer at the University of Reading, said while it was a tragic incident, determined people could get inside zoo enclosures.
“I view it in the same way a determined thief will get into somebody’s house or somebody’s car and despite the best security systems and enclosures sometimes these things happen,” he said.
“One of the fundamental approaches of a modern zoo is to give people a wildlife experience and keep them safe so they can learn and they can enjoy being near the animals, but keeping a safety distance that is relevant but not making it too heavy handed.”
