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More horrific details revealed about fatal attack of man after he entered tiger enclosure as woman 'desperately tried to pull him back'
In the days since a young man died after being attacked by a tiger at a British zoo, chilling details about the moments leading up to the tragic incident have surfaced.
The young man, who has not yet been named, is thought to have leapt from a viewing platform before big cat Altai dragged him away at the wildlife park yesterday.
Park rangers secured the tiger, but it was too late
Moments later, rangers fired two warning shots from a shotgun to scare the male tiger away before he retreated to his pen and was quickly secured, but it was too late and the man had already been mauled to death.
Shortly after 1 pm on Saturday, October 10, emergency services were called to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster, England, following reports that a male had entered the tiger enclosure. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A couple who witnessed the horrifying event, Anthony Hunt and Scarlet Hogan, told The Telegraph that they were photographing the tiger when the man entered its enclosure.
Hunt said: “We tracked the tiger’s eyes, and we saw him in the corner just walking across the enclosure.
"The tiger got alerted. He went into stalk mode. The tiger came flying off the ledge and approached him.
“The man started praying to the tiger, bowing down to it – the tiger looked a bit confused. Up until he got attacked, it was like he was in a trance, not in reality at all.”
While Hogan added: "It looked like he was taking selfies. Then when he got on all fours, he started praying. It was the strangest thing ever.
“He had arms wide open ready for the tiger to attack him. It was quite bad. We were just stood there, frozen... the last thing we saw was the tiger’s jaw on his neck.”
A witness tried to stop the man jumping into the enclosure
The traumatized couple also noted that a woman “desperately tried to pull him back”, but the man sadly “overpowered her and jumped off” the viewing deck into the enclosure.
Hunt said: "We spoke to her after and she was like, ‘I tried to pull him back’ but I guess she didn’t want to risk her own life as well.”
Cops have since revealed that the deadly big cat attacked the man inside the enclosure, leaving him with severe injuries before emergency medical personnel could safely reach him.
After videos of the tragic incident went viral and continue to circulate online, South Yorkshire Police have urged the public to avoid the distressing footage and not share it.
In an official statement, Yorkshire Wildlife Park thanked “everyone who has expressed their concern following yesterday's tragic incident."
It also said: "Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies remain with the family and loved ones of the man who tragically lost his life."
Reassuring the public about the tiger, Altai’s welfare, it added: "We can reassure everyone that he is safe and well and will not be euthanized as a result of this incident."