Tiger at Carole Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue ‘nearly tore off’ volunteer’s arm
A tiger named Kimba at Carole Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue “nearly tore off” the arm of a longtime volunteer on Thursday.
Baskin, the founder of the sanctuary, identified the injured volunteer as 69-year-old Candy Couser. She has volunteered with the sanctuary for five years and has worked with lions, tigers and the sanctuary’s other large cats for nearly three years.
The 3-year-old adult Bengal tiger bit Couser’s arm and “nearly tore it off at the shoulder,” Baskin said. He was one of three abused circus tigers that were taken to Big Cat Rescue last year after being rescued in Guatemala by an animal-rights group. Couser was one of the volunteers who helped unload Kimba at the sanctuary.
Here’s what happened, according to an audio recording that Baskin provided to the Miami Herald with volunteers telling Baskin what happened. Baskin also provided some information to the Herald in an email.
Couser was on her way to feed Kimba and realized he was locked out of where his food was. Baskin said the tiger had been locked away from his usual feeding area for several days because cameras were being set up in the area.
So Couser went over to the other side and opened a tunnel door. The second door was clipped shut.
This is where Couser went wrong. She was at the wrong feeding lockout, according to the rescue.
“This is our universal signal NOT to open a gate without the coordinator coming to assist, but Candy said she just wasn’t thinking when she reached in to unclip it,” Baskin said in an email to the Miami Herald. “It is against our protocols for anyone to stick any part of their body into a cage with a cat in it.”
Couser reached in to unclip the door, and that’s when the tiger attacked.
The tiger dropped his grip when another worker ran over after hearing commotion, and Couser fell to the ground. The tiger kept pacing around her.
One employee recalled seeing the arm “detached at the shoulder and that it was barely hanging on by a little bit of skin underneath,” according to the audio recording. Others said Couser kept saying she
“felt stupid” for what she did.
Baskin says a staff member named Marc pulled Couser to safety and used his belt as a tourniquet while an ambulance was called. Another staffer named Gina, who is a nurse, tried to stop the bleeding and packed Couser’s arm in ice to try to save it.
Couser was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital, said Eric Seidel, spokesman for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.
Baskin said Couser told the staff she didn’t want Kimba to be harmed because of her mistake. The quick thinking of the other workers probably saved Couser’s life and her arm, Baskin said.
Big Cat Rescue later posted an update online about Couser’s condition.
Her husband said she can move her fingers, her shoulder is badly damaged and her arm is broken in three places. She will need surgery.
“She is conscious but sedated and when the Florida Wildlife officers visited her they said she was able to tell them what happened,” the update reads.
Baskin said Kimba will be placed in quarantine for the next 30 days as a precaution but was “just acting normal due to the presence of food and the opportunity.”
It’s unclear if Baskin was at the sanctuary at the time of the incident.
“This sort of tragedy can happen in the blink of an eye and we cannot relax
our guard for a second around these dangerous cats,” Baskin said in a statement.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office are investigating.
The sanctuary has been closed to visitors because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is home to more than 50 lions, tigers, bobcats, cougars and other big cats.
Baskin, an animal activist, found fame this year on Netflix’s docuseries “Tiger King” and was a contestant on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”