'Come here tiger, kill me': witnesses reveal Yorkshire zoo victim's final words before fatal mauling
Altai, the five-year-old Amur tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park whose fatal mauling of a man in his 20s on Saturday has shocked witnesses, has been confirmed by the park as "safe and well" and will not be euthanised.Yorkshire Wildlife Park, where Altai the Amur tiger is confirmed safe and will not be euthanised, remains closed for a third consecutive day as South Yorkshire Police continue their enquiries.
A man in his 20s provoked a 200kg Siberian tiger named Altai into attacking him at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster on Saturday, calling out "kill me" before being fatally mauled in front of families. In the minutes before the attack, he had been dancing alone wearing headphones, asked another visitor, Del Taylor, to take his photograph with Altai, and was heard saying "one more, one more, one more" as the shots were taken. South Yorkshire Police confirmed he died at the scene; City of Doncaster Council has opened a health and safety investigation, and the tiger was unharmed.
Eyewitnesses Anthony Hunt and Scarlet Hogan watched the man fall around 12ft into the enclosure after overpowering a woman who struggled desperately to pull him back.
Hogan said he appeared to be "in a trance, not in reality at all" — kneeling, praying and bowing before the tiger before screaming "stop" and signing "bad" in Makaton as the attack began.
The tiger grabbed him by the neck; the last words witnesses heard him address to Altai were "stop being naughty".
