How Yorkshire Wildlife Park zookeepers tried to stop 'horrific' tiger attack as more details emerge
Onlookers who watched the tragic tiger attack at Yorkshire Wildlife Park unfold have hailed the zookeepers for 'doing everything they could'.
A man who has not yet been named was pronounced dead at the scene on Saturday (10 October), shortly after he entered the animal enclosure.
Further details about the horror incident have now been shared, as visitors who were observing the big cats revealed how panic ensued as they watched him grapple with the tiger.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park was promptly evacuated yesterday afternoon after shots rang out while guests were milling around the attraction in Doncaster.
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One witness told LADbible they saw 'staff running around' frantically and ushering people towards the exit, 'but wouldn't say anything about why'.
"It felt chaotic," she said. "People near us were saying how they'd been near the tiger enclosure when they'd seen a young man climbing the fence into the enclosure where he had provoked the tigers which then retaliated.
"Some saying the tigers were shot, others saying it was gas canisters to spook them into their enclosures."
South Yorkshire Police confirmed that the man had entered the tiger enclosure before he was 'subsequently attacked', resulting 'in serious injury'.
In a statement shared with LADbible, the force said: "The tiger remained in the enclosure following the incident and there is no wider risk to the public.
"We are aware of videos circulating online and we would encourage people not to share this distressing footage."
'It's horrific'
Those who watched the horror unfold in the Land of the Tigers area in the park have told how zookeepers sprang into action after the man entered the enclosure.
In video circulating on social media, visitors can be heard shouting at the tiger in a bid to distract it, while staff members then fired several gunshots into the air.
According to the reports, the animal eventually fled and hid nearby. The tiger was not injured. A 'black screen' was then erected around the enclosure.
The Manchester Evening News reported that the tiger is 'absolutely fine' despite the terrifying incident, while sharing some further details.
A source told the publication: "From start to end the incident was over within minutes. The keepers did everything they could. It's horrific."
"The barriers are huge," they said of the enclosure. "You would have to really want to get inside the enclosure to be able to do it."
The Land of the Tigers attraction, which opened at Yorkshire Wildlife Park opened in 2011, is on a purpose-built two-acre reserve for Amur tigers.
These are an endangered subspecies and only around 500 are left in the wild.
The park is home to two of these tigers - one male named Altai, and one female called Tschuna.
Olivia Burke