LONDON: A man identified as William Chapman was killed by a tiger after entering its enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster in England, according to the BBC.
Chapman entered the enclosure shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time on Saturday and was pronounced dead at the scene, South Yorkshire Police said. Police confirmed he was visiting the park alone.
The park was evacuated following the incident and remains closed as investigations continue. Chapman’s family has been informed and is receiving support from specialist officers, police said.
The rare Amur tiger, named Altai, remains in its enclosure and will not be euthanized, Yorkshire Wildlife Park said, expressing its “thoughts and heartfelt sympathies” to the man’s family.
An eyewitness, Ella Ford, 24, said she saw Chapman pacing near the enclosure while wearing headphones. A few minutes later, she saw him climb onto the barriers before entering the enclosure.
Ford said a woman had been standing nearby talking to him before he climbed in, crawled in front of the tiger and lay down near the animal, which was perched on a wooden platform.
She said the tiger then grabbed Chapman as he shouted for help. Some visitors tried to distract the animal by banging on the fence, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Ford estimated that 15 to 20 people were on the raised visitor walkway overlooking the enclosure before staff evacuated the area and subsequently cleared the park.
Another visitor, Karmelle Pelham, 39, said staff instructed her family to leave the park. She recalled hearing sounds resembling gunshots and seeing an air ambulance circling overhead. She also noticed a large black tarpaulin covering part of the enclosure.
South Yorkshire Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. Doncaster Council has also launched a health and safety investigation, saying the inquiry was being conducted in line with its statutory duties.
A spokesperson for the Born Free Foundation, which campaigns to phase out zoos, called for an urgent review of how Chapman gained access to the enclosure and what happened afterward.
Dr. Campbell Murn, a former member of the government’s zoo expert committee and a lecturer at the University of Reading, said the incident was tragic but noted that determined individuals could sometimes breach zoo enclosures despite security measures.
A video posted on a social media account believed to belong to Chapman appeared to show the moments before the attack.
The footage showed the tiger on a wooden platform as the man approached across a grassy area, while people could be heard shouting warnings and urging him to leave. The video ended before the attack, and the account has since been removed.
Floral tributes have been left near the park entrance as investigations continue.
