FROM WINK-TV NEWS: A spokesperson for the Naples Zoo told WINK News that there is a scene unfolding there. She described it as an “incident at the zoo.”
Lee Health later told WINK that a person was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital after being attacked by a tiger. According to a statement from Naples Zoo, a man was cleaning in an unauthorized area when that tiger attacked him.
Collier County Sheriff’s deputies have begun speaking with a few of the zoo’s employees. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is at the scene as well.
Officials think the man, believed to be in his 20s, was either petting or feeding the tiger when it grabbed his arm and pulled him into its enclosure.
Collier County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene just before 6:30 p.m. The first deputy attempted to get the tiger to release the man’s arm but was forced to shoot the animal.
That 8-year-old tiger was sedated. Just after 11 p.m., WINK News learned that the tiger has died.
The man is now being treated at Lee Memorial Hospital with serious injuries.
The Naples Zoo sent a statement to WINK New regarding the tiger attack. You read the full statement below:
This evening after the Naples Zoo had closed for the day a member of a a third party cleaning service contracted by the zoo suffered serious injuries when he entered an unauthorized area near a tiger that was inside its enclosure. The cleaning company is responsible for cleaning restrooms and the gift shop, not the animal enclosures. Preliminary information indicates that the man was either petting or feeding the animal, both of which are unauthorized and dangerous activities. Initial reports indicate that the tiger grabbed the man’s arm and pulled it into the enclosure after the the man traversed an initial fence barrier and put his arm through the fencing of the tiger enclosure. Deputies were called to the Zoo at 6:26 p.m. The first deputy on scene kicked the enclosure and tried to get the tiger to release the man’s arm from its mouth but the deputy was forced to shoot the animal. The man, who is in his 20s, was seriously injured and was transported to an area hospital by Collier County EMS as a trauma alert. At this time the status of the tiger is unclear. The 4-year-old male Malayan tiger retreated to the back of the enclosure after it was shot. We have flown a drone into the enclosure and the tiger is not responding. A veterinarian has sedated the animal and will examine it when it is safe to do so.
WINK News is The Breaking News Authority and will update this breaking story when more information is available.
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that tiger died because of untrained personnel and an responding officer who panicked. An unnecessary death of an endangered specie. Is naples so uncivilized or so arrogant that this xzoo cannot manager the proper care of its animals or expend the money necessary to train its staff?
In this case, you are wrong. I have watched the actual surveillance video. First, the male victim was alone in an area he wasn’t supposed to be in. Next, the park had closed, no one but the cleaning crew were present, and all, but the victim were in a part of the zoo far away. Finally, the officer tried to scare off the tiger to no avail. There was no choice but to shoot or let the tiger rip off the arm completely. There was no vet standing by, and tranquilizers are not part of police equipment.
So before you blame the cops or the zoo personnel be sure you know all the facts.