Pitesti (Romania) – Horror in the zoo: A tiger killed a keeper! The 52-year-old employee was bitten several times in the head by the predator and died within a few minutes.
The incident occurred this morning at a zoo in Romania, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) from Bucharest. The public prosecutor and police have launched an investigation.
It is reported that the zookeeper disregarded safety regulations. He entered the cage without moving the tiger to a safe area. A spokesman for Pitesti Town Hall said: “The man in charge of cleaning the area entered the tiger cage without observing safety regulations.”
The zoo has several big cats, including some tigers
It continues: “Specifically, the worker should have removed the tiger from the yard, which was protected by a high fence, during cleaning and closed the cage with a security door. But the worker didn’t comply, he forgot to close the safety door, the tiger came back into the enclosure and bit him on the head.”
The rescue workers were immediately alerted, but could only determine that the man was dead. Mayor Cristian Gentea said: “A zoo employee lost his life after being attacked by a tiger. It’s the first time something like this has happened in 50 years.”
The mayor continued: “It is a great loss and our thoughts are with the family of the victim and all relatives in these moments of pain! According to initial information, the incident was due to the employee’s failure to comply with the safety protocols required when working with wildlife.”
Four years ago, a tiger escaped from the zoo
In recent decades there have been several incidents involving tigers in Romanian zoos, including in Pitesti. In 2000, a tiger escaped from Pitesti Zoo because a staff member forgot to lock several doors. Luckily, after less than an hour, the tiger was found in a forest near the zoo and returned to its cage.
Meanwhile, the zoo said it will radically change security procedures in the next few weeks to prevent similar attacks in the future.