A tiger mauled a 50-year-old animal shelter worker, leaving him with injuries to both hands after he entered the enclosure while the caretaker was feeding him
- The worker entered the tiger enclosure while feeding, officials said.
- He was not allowed to be in the enclosure during the attack.
- The tiger caused “serious” injuries to both of the man’s arms, officials said.
- The worker was taken to the hospital immediately after the attack.
- In the meantime, the keepers managed to safely contain the tiger, which was unharmed.
A tiger mauled a worker at an airfield in Florida Tuesday afternoon after the man entered the animal’s enclosure while feeding, officials said.
According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, the attack occurred while on a Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours in Ochopee.
The caretaker was feeding the tiger in his enclosure when another worker, who did not have permission to enter the enclosure at the time, intervened, officials said.
A tiger in the middle of feeding in a rage attacked a 50-year-old man and injured both of his hands.
Officials did not immediately report on the worker’s condition after the mutilation, but said his injuries were severe enough to require him to be rushed to the hospital.
The tiger caretaker was able to safely restrain the big cat after the attack, officials said, before adding that the tiger was unharmed.
A tiger mauled a worker at an airfield in Florida Tuesday afternoon after the man entered the animal’s enclosure while feeding, officials said.
According to the company’s website, in addition to the airboat tours, the Wooten attraction includes an animal sanctuary that has two tigers, two lions, otters, turtles, crocodiles and alligators.
A blog post on the site yesterday reported that there had been a tiger incident, but no further information was provided.
An earlier blog post indicated that the reserve kept two tigers: a male white tiger and a female Amur tiger.
The site says all animals on the property receive “regular USDA and veterinary visits” to ensure their enclosures are up to par and the animals are “healthy and happy.”
But PETA’s deputy director of captivity law enforcement, Debbie Metzler, said: “This incident could easily have been fatal, but so far the public believes it’s safe to pet a tiger, harass wild animals, or even enter their enclosures. it will happen again.”
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Melody Kilborn said on Tuesday evening that the incident would be investigated.
Kilborn said in a statement that the man did indeed try to feed the tiger when it was mauled, but this has yet to be confirmed.
“Preliminary evidence shows that an employee of the institution was trying to feed the tiger when he suffered serious injuries to his hands and arms,” Kilborn said.
Tuesday’s incident represents the second tiger attack in three months in Florida.
In December, a care worker was mauled by a tiger at the Naples Zoo in the Caribbean Gardens after he entered an unauthorized area.
A Collier County MP shot the animal as its jaws closed around the man’s arm.