Tiger kills woman zookeeper as families told to run
Witnesses describe hearing ‘girl’s screams’ as colleagues tried in vain to control animal
A FEMALE zookeeper was killed yesterday when a tiger entered the enclosure she was in.
Visitors to Hamerton Zoo Park in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, said keepers told them to run to safety after they heard screams coming from a tiger enclosure shortly before midday.
Police said the woman, who had not been named last night, died after “a tiger had entered an enclosure with a keeper”.
Staff last night said they were too upset to speak after the incident, which the zoo described as a “freak accident”.
The park, which has two white tigers and two Malayan tigers, said a full investigation was under way.
Witnesses said keepers had tried to distract the big cats with pieces of meat after the incident. An air ambulance was called but the woman died at the scene.
Pete Davis, 55, who was visiting the zoo with his family, said: “It was a case of total panic. There were keepers rushing about throwing about buckets of meat to try and get the tigers under control.
“They ushered us away to another building where they made us stay for around 10 minutes but you could see the keepers with their heads in their hands. People were really scared, they asked us to leave straight after that and closed the park.”
Another witness, Victoria Northover Holmes, said: “We could see staff on the other side of the fence with pieces of meat trying to get whatever’s attention. It was heart-breaking seeing them trying to help.”
A FEMALE zookeeper was killed in a suspected tiger attack after she apparently went to the aid of a colleague.
Police said the unnamed woman died after a tiger “entered an enclosure with a keeper” at a small zoo in Cambridgeshire yesterday.
Witnesses recalled hearing screams and keepers desperately trying to distract tigers with pieces of meat as bank holiday visitors were evacuated from Hamerton Park Zoo.
A statement from the zoo said staff were too upset to talk because “one of our colleagues was killed in a freak accident”. The statement gave no more details, but said none of the animals had escaped and the public had not been in danger.
The zoo also said that it will remain closed today.
Pete Davis, who had been visiting the 25-acre zoo with his family, said he had seen a young female keeper run into a tiger enclosure to help a colleague who was shouting. Soon after she entered, Mr Davis said he heard screams.
Mr Davis, 55, said: “There’s no doubting it was a girl’s scream and something terrible had happened. It sounds like a tiger turned on her.”
Another keeper then ran out and ordered visitors to flee.
He said: “It was a case of total panic. There were keepers rushing about throwing about buckets of meat to try and get the tigers under control.
“They ushered us away to another building where they made us stay for around 10 minutes but you could see the keepers with their heads in their hands. People were really scared, they asked us to leave straight after that and closed the park.”
Another witness, Victoria Northover Holmes, wrote on Facebook that she had had been visiting when staff told her to run. She said she fled thinking a tiger was on the loose, but believed “something has gone wrong with a keeper and a tiger”.
She described how she had been taking photographs of tigers when keepers ran up to a neighbouring enclosure.
She wrote: “We didn’t know what was happening but they looked worried. I carried on walking down the hill towards the next enclosure when someone shouted ‘run’.
“A group of us ran into the keepers’ rooms for about 10 minutes until a keeper said we could leave.
“At this point we understood by the reactions of the staff that something was going on inside the enclosure. We could see staff members on the other side of the fence with pieces of meat trying to get whatever’s attention .
“It was heart-breaking seeing them trying to help.”
The zoo near Sawtry, about eight miles north of Huntingdon, has two white tigers, called Mohan and Shiva, and two Malayan tigers, called Cicip and Sahaja. It also has cheetahs and a number of other wild cats, including lynxes, servals and oncillas. The zoo also has wolves.
Police said the incident happened shortly before midday.
Cambridgeshire police said: “A tiger had entered an enclosure with a keeper. Sadly the female zookeeper died at the scene.
“The incident is not believed to be suspicious.”
A statement from the zoo added: “One of our colleagues was killed at Hamerton Zoo Park, this morning.
“This appears to have been a freak accident.
“A full investigation is currently under way and we hope that more details can be announced as soon as we are able.
“At no point during the incident did any animals escape their enclosures, and at no point was public safety affected in any way.”
‘We could see staff with pieces of meat trying to get whatever’s attention. It was heartbreaking’