A zookeeper was attacked and fatally mauled by an Amur tiger as terrified visitors could do nothing but watch and call for help.
The incident occurred at Zoo Zurich in Switzerland where a 55-year-old female zookeeper entered the animal’s enclosure while the beast was in it.
While in the enclosure, the woman was attacked by Irina the Amur tiger that behaved normally prior to the incident according to the zoo.
As horrified visitors were watching the attack unfold, other keepers were allegedly seen attempting to lure the beast away from the 55-year-old.
After the paramedics arrived at the scene and failed to revive the keeper, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the zoo, an investigation, which involves the city police and forensic institute, has been launched to get to the bottom of the incident and find out why the keeper entered the cage when the animal was inside.
As Severin Dressen, the director of Zoo Zurich, insisted, the tiger that was born in 2015 was behaving normally prior to the incident.
“Our full sympathy is with the relatives of the victim,” Dressen said as he explained that the victim was a long-term worker at their zoo.
Following the tragic death at the zoo, the visitors who witnessed the attack were allegedly offered psychological counseling.
Despite describing the incident as “highly tragic,” the zoo confirmed that the tiger will not be euthanized.
“The zoo maintains that the tiger is a wild animal. A person in her exhibit is an intruder into her territory. In her reaction, she followed her natural instincts exclusively,” the officials confirmed in a statement.
Last year, in another animal attack at the same zoo, one of the crocodiles grabbed a zookeeper by the arm during the cleaning of the enclosure. The animal was put down.
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Replaced!