Man Mauled to Death by Tiger After Approaching Enclosure in Viral Video
Newly released footage captures the moments leading up to a fatal tiger attack at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, showing the victim calmly approaching the animal.
Shocking video filmed by William Chapman, the man fatally mauled by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, shows him calmly approaching the resting animal as onlookers can be heard screaming in the background. The footage captures the moments immediately preceding the deadly attack on Saturday.
Chapman, identified by police as a "vulnerable man in his early 20s," shared his own video to Instagram shortly before the incident. The video shows him walking towards Altai, a 420-pound Siberian tiger, after entering the animal's enclosure. In the background of the clip, a visitor can be heard exclaiming, "Oh my God!"
Additional bystander videos show Chapman being bitten by the tiger and, at one point during the mauling, appearing to raise a finger at the animal, as if telling it to stop. Witness accounts describe Chapman as seeming "not attached to reality" during the attack, with one visitor recalling him dancing happily and asking for photos shortly before the incident.
Park workers fired two warning shots from a shotgun in an attempt to scare Altai away. The tiger retreated to its den as staff rushed to Chapman's aid, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Yorkshire Wildlife Park confirmed that Altai is safe and unharmed and will not be euthanized.
Chapman had reportedly traveled to the park alone from his nearby home in Doncaster. The park remained closed on Sunday following the fatal incident. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding how Chapman entered the enclosure is ongoing.