Man thought to be in his 20s is 'grabbed by the throat' within seconds of 'scaling fence' into Doncaster tiger enclosure

From the Newshound archive · first published 10 October 2026 · last updated 11 October 2026.

A man thought to be in his 20s was killed by a Siberian tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster on Saturday after witnesses say he climbed over the fence into the enclosure and was seized by the throat almost instantly. One witness said the victim appeared 'agitated' beforehand and was holding a mobile phone with earpods in, and appeared to 'psych himself up' with a dance before scaling the barrier. The park was evacuated and remains closed, while South Yorkshire Police confirmed the tiger was uninjured and stayed inside the enclosure.

A woman's voice can be heard in footage of the attack saying 'I tried to stop him', as the man cried 'no, no' during the mauling.

The Amur tiger enclosure features a purpose-built two-acre reserve with a 300-metre raised walkway — police are still working to establish exactly how the man breached it.

'Tiger King' star Carole Baskin said the tiger 'was not doing anything wrong by being a tiger' and called for no blame to fall on the animal.