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Witnesses describe horrors as man mauled to death by tiger after entering enclosure
Those who bore witness to the horrors of a man being killed by a tiger when he entered its enclosure at a zoo in the UK on Saturday (October 10) have revealed what they saw.
South Yorkshire Police attended the scene at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster, England, after it was reported that a man had entered the tiger den.
Soon, videos and images circulated online, appearing to show the initial moments of a man wearing a black jersey, kneeling with his back turned away from the wild animal,
Sadly, authorities later confirmed that the man was pronounced dead at the scene, and the park closed its doors on Sunday (October 11) to visitors so that staff affected could receive specialist support, per the Park.
The lion, which is named Altai, will also not be euthanized, according to a statement issued by the location.
"We would like to thank everyone who has expressed their concern following yesterday's tragic incident," the park said. "Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies remain with the family and loved ones of the man who tragically lost his life."
It added to those concerned about the welfare of the tiger following the incident: "We can reassure everyone that he is safe and well and will not be euthanised as a result of this incident."
As for what happened in the moments leading to the man entering the pit, and during the attack, Anthony Hunt and his girlfriend Scarlet Hogan say they were there when everything unfolded.
The pair told The Telegraph that they were taking pictures of the lion, and were shocked to see a man had entered.
“We tracked the tiger’s eyes, and we saw him in the corner just walking across the enclosure,” Hogan said. "The tiger got alerted. He went into stalk mode. The tiger came flying off the ledge and approached him.”
She added: “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.”
Hogan went on to share that 'it looked like he was taking selfies,’ adding: “Then when he got on all fours, he started praying. It was the strangest thing ever.”
She claimed: “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.”
Hunt then claimed that a woman had been with the man prior to the incident, and 'desperately tried to pull back' the man from jumping in.
However, he 'overpowered her’.
Hunt added: "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.
“We did hear some gunshots, but that was when they shot the ground, then the police told us [the man] was pronounced dead. The woman said the man was saying something religious."
Before the incident, the couple claimed they had seen the man dancing 'erratically' earlier in the day as they parked their car.
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