Man dies after entering tiger enclosure at England wildlife park

Emergency services called to the scene after reports of a man entering the tiger enclosure at a UK wildlife park.

A tiger walks in the snow at Banham Zoo in Norfolk, United Kingdom [File: Jamie McDonald/Getty]

A man has died after entering a tiger enclosure at a wildlife park in northern England and being attacked by one of the animals, police said.

South Yorkshire Police said officers and emergency medical staff were called to Yorkshire Wildlife Park near the city of Doncaster at about 1:35pm on Saturday (12:35 GMT) after receiving reports that a man had entered the enclosure.

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He died at the scene. It was not immediately clear how he got in.

The tiger was not injured and stayed inside the enclosure during the incident, police said, adding that there was no wider risk to the public.

The park was evacuated, and officers remained at the scene on Saturday night.

“The man’s family is aware and is being supported by specialist officers. Our thoughts are with them at this distressing time,” police said in a statement.

Police also confirmed they were aware of footage circulating on social media that appeared to show the man inside the enclosure shortly before the attack, urging members of the public not to share the distressing video.

The park said it had closed after a serious incident involving the tiger enclosure and would remain closed until Sunday.

“We are working closely with the authorities to ascertain exactly what happened,” the park said in a statement on its website.

“The safety and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and animals remain our highest priority”.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park began operating in 2009, and its Land of the Tigers attraction – a purpose-built 0.4-hectare (2-acre) reserve for endangered Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers – opened in 2011.

A raised walkway, 300 metres (985 feet) long, lets visitors watch the tigers roam through woodland and grassland and play in a waterfall pool, the park said.

英国一家野生动物园发生男子闯入老虎围栏的事件，紧急救援人员赶到现场。

一只老虎在英国诺福克郡班汉动物园的雪地里行走。[图片：Jamie McDonald/Getty]

警方称，一名男子进入英格兰北部一家野生动物园的老虎围栏后，遭到老虎袭击身亡。

南约克郡警方表示，周六下午 1 点 35 分左右（格林尼治标准时间 12 点 35 分），接到报告称一名男子进入了唐卡斯特市附近的约克郡野生动物园的围栏后，警员和紧急医疗人员赶到现场。

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他当场死亡。目前尚不清楚他是如何进入房间的。

警方表示，老虎没有受伤，事发期间一直待在围栏内，对公众没有造成更大的风险。

公园已被疏散，警员周六晚间仍留在现场。

警方在一份声明中表示：“该男子的家人已知晓此事，并已得到专案警员的帮助。在这个令人悲痛的时刻，我们与他们同在。”

警方也证实，他们已经注意到社交媒体上流传的一段视频，该视频似乎显示该男子在袭击发生前不久出现在围栏内，并敦促公众不要分享这段令人不安的视频。

公园方面表示，由于老虎笼舍发生严重事故，公园已关闭，并将持续关闭至周日。

“我们正在与有关部门密切合作，以查明究竟发生了什么，”公园在其网站上发表声明称。

“游客、员工和动物的安全和福祉仍然是我们的首要任务。”

约克郡野生动物园于 2009 年开始运营，其“老虎之地”景点——一个专门为濒危的阿穆尔虎（又称西伯利亚虎）建造的占地 0.4 公顷（2 英亩）的保护区——于 2011 年开放。

公园方面表示，一条长 300 米（985 英尺）的架空步道可以让游客观看老虎在林地和草原上漫步，并在瀑布池中嬉戏。