Witness describes chaos at Yorkshire Wildlife Park after man 'scaled fence and jumped into tiger enclosure'

A witness has described the ‘chaotic’ scenes at Yorkshire Wildlife Park after police said a tiger attacked and ‘seriously injured’ a man.

The park, near Doncaster, will remain closed for the weekend because a man entered the tiger enclosure and was ‘attacked’ by the animal shortly after 1.30pm on Saturday.

In a statement shared with LADbible, South Yorkshire Police (SYP) said ‘the tiger has subsequently attacked the man and this has resulted in serious injury’.

“Officers are working at pace to make contact with the man’s family and no further detail will be provided at this time,” they added.

SYP have said they are aware of the footage online and have asked people not to share it.

Alice, a woman who was at the park, told LADbible that it was all ‘very sudden’ with ‘a member of staff running around telling people to evacuate but wouldn't say anything about why’.

(SWNS)

“It felt chaotic. 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,” she said.

“Some saying the tigers were shot, others saying it was gas canisters to spook them into their enclosures.

“When we left we had to walk the length of the park and pass nearby the tiger enclosure and could see emergency services dealing with the scene from afar but not close enough to make out any casualties etc.

“I was with friends and their young children. Thankful we weren't in the area at the time.”

Another witness Tia Hanson told The Star: "People are saying they heard a gunshot and they say someone either jumped in, or fell in."

Reports suggest these 'gunshot' sounds might have been made by gas canister and tranquilliser darts that were deployed into the enclosure.

A statement posted on the wildlife park’s social media pages reads: “We can confirm that 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.”