South Yorkshire Police won’t be identifying the man who tragically died after being mauled by a tiger inside Yorkshire Wildlife Park’s enclosure at the request of his family
A man who died after being mauled by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park won’t be identified by South Yorkshire Police, with a local resident suggesting the victim may have had special needs.
The zoo remains closed today as investigations continue into the tragic death, which happened after lunchtime on Saturday. The park erupted into chaos and was evacuated after the man climbed into the enclosure before seemingly trying to communicate through sign language with the tiger.
After being thrown around by the 30-stone beast, the man was pronounced dead the scene. Angela Seivewright, a local resident, went to lay flowers at the gate of Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which remained closed on Monday after the fatal incident over the weekend.
She said she had previously seen adults with special needs in the park with carers who appeared to be “a bit distracted” and felt “sad” at much of the reaction to the man’s death. Ms Seivewright said: “I believe that the person who was killed had additional needs.
“And, when I looked at social media over the weekend, when I said I hoped the person was OK, I got really bullied a lot – saying that he deserved to die.” I have a special needs child and I think he was doing sign language to the tiger.
“So, it just felt it was really unfair that people were almost wishing him to die as opposed to not wanting anybody to be hurt. So it was really upsetting. My daughter goes to school next door and we live around the corner. And I just thought there would be way more flowers here.”
The Press Association understands that the victim will not be identified at the request of his family.
Councillor Steve Cox, who represents the Finningley ward covering the wildlife park, told the Press Association: “I really feel for the staff, they’ve got protocols they have to go through. It’s really sad, but I’m sure everybody did what they could.”
Doncaster’s deputy civic mayor Councillor Nick Allen, who represents a nearby ward, said: “We don’t know all the circumstances yet and the speculation online is obviously upsetting and unneeded.” He said he had been “really shocked about the tragic incident”.
In a previous statement on social media, the wildlife park said “many, many people” had contacted them about Altai, the Amur tiger involved in the incident, and it confirmed he is “safe and well” and will not be euthanised. It added that members of park staff were “deeply affected” by the incident and receiving specialist support.
Videos circulating online appear to show a man being pawed at and grappled by Altai in the tiger enclosure at the park. In another, it appears the voice of the as-yet-unidentified man can be heard asking people to take a photo of him with the tiger before the incident took place.
South Yorkshire Police said it is aware of the footage of the attack online and asked people not to share it. Yorkshire Wildlife Park opened in 2009, with the Land of the Tigers attraction opening in 2011.
The attraction is a purpose-built, two-acre reserve for Amur tigers, an endangered subspecies with around 500 left in the wild. Photos of the enclosure on the park’s website show a high walkway for visitors and fencing above the section where the tigers can roam.
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