Now detectives question staff at tiger death zoo

DETECTIVES yesterday visited the zoo where a tiger killed an experienced keeper to question staff about how the tragedy could have happened.

Rosa King, 33, was savaged in a tiger paddock at Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire on Monday – where inspectors in 2013 warned the owners to improve safety measures. One of those taken away in an unmarked police car yesterday afternoon appeared to be zoo manager Andrew Swales’s 29-year-old son Chris.

Forensic teams were later seen arriving at the wildlife park, which is home to rare Malayan tigers Cicip and Sahaja.

The investigation will focus on how Miss King came to be in the enclosure at the same time as one of the predators.

Cambridgeshire Police initially signalled it would be handing the case over to Huntingdon District Council but said it had a duty to investigate the ‘unexplained’ death. No arrests have been made.

The council, which is responsible for health and safety, confirmed it was working with police.

The zoo, which remains closed, said it was ‘co-operating fully’.