Man Mauled to Death by Tiger After Taunting it to 'Kill Me'
Eyewitnesses recount harrowing final moments of a man who entered a Siberian tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, seemingly provoking the animal.
A man who died after being mauled by a Siberian tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park had reportedly taunted the animal to attack him, according to eyewitness accounts. The man, whose identity is being withheld at his family's request, was seen by witnesses pacing near the tiger enclosure on Saturday.
One witness, Del Taylor, reported that the man asked her to take a photo of him with the Siberian tiger, Altai, in the background. Audio obtained from the encounter captures him saying, "Excuse me, can you grab a shot of myself with the tiger?" and "One more, one more, one more!"
Following the photo request, witnesses described the man climbing over a 15-foot fence into the tiger enclosure. Another witness, Anthony Hunt, told The Telegraph that a woman attempted to prevent him from entering but was unable to hold him back. "He overpowered her and jumped off," Hunt stated.
Inside the enclosure, the man reportedly got on his knees and began to interact with the tiger. "He had his arms wide open like he was saying: ‘Come here tiger. Kill me’,” Hunt told The Times of London. "Then the tiger came and started to attack him. He started to fight back and screamed. It was like he was just detached from reality. The last thing we saw, the tiger was on his neck."
Another bystander recounted the man yelling at the tiger and waving his finger before the animal grabbed him by the neck. Park staff responded quickly, firing two warning shots into the ground to deter the tiger. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Some observers suggested the man might have been confused or did not anticipate an attack. "I honestly do think he just wanted to play with the tiger," one person wrote on Facebook.
Altai, the tiger involved in the incident, was unharmed and will not be euthanized, according to a statement from Yorkshire Wildlife Park. The park implemented measures to shield the enclosure and closed its doors for the remainder of the weekend to cooperate with authorities investigating the incident. "The safety and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and animals remain our highest priority," the park said in its statement.