Wildlife park confirms tiger that mauled man to death after he entered its enclosure will not be euthanized
Animal rights
On Saturday, a man entered a tiger enclosure at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster and was mauled to death. According to the BBC, the victim was identified as William Chapman, an actor credited on IMDb for his work on May Contain Nuts and BBC Learning: True Stories.
BBC reported that an eyewitness saw Chapman “pacing around” the tiger enclosure while wearing headphones before he went in. The Guardian reported that Marie Miller, a park visitor, wrote in a Facebook post that she had seen Chapman before the incident and that he was “happily enjoying”. Miller also noted that Chapman had asked a stranger to take his picture with the tiger. The BBC article highlighted that Chapman was believed to have entered the enclosure via a walkway.
The tiger that was responsible for Chapman’s killing will not be put down. According to 9 News, the Wildlife Park said in a statement, “Many, many people have contacted us about Altai, the tiger. We can reassure everyone that he is safe and well and will not be euthanized as a result of this incident.” It also told the public that staff members affected by the incident were receiving “specialist support.”
Visitor testimonies from the site
The Guardian included many testimonies from people at the site during the incident. A visitor allegedly told the South West News Service that the park evacuation after the incident was “frightening and confusing.” She said, “At first, we were all scared and confused because we had no idea what was going on. Different routes had been closed off, and staff were positioned around the park directing visitors where to go.” She added, “The scariest part was not knowing what was happening.”
The visitor said she heard people around her say the affected individual was 22 years old. Speaking about what she noticed on site, she said, “As we walked past the police near the tiger enclosure, we saw officers surrounding a young man in the tiger enclosure.” She continued, “We saw an air ambulance outside the park, although from what we observed, it didn’t take anyone away.”
The BBC identified another visitor at the Wildlife Park that day: Ella Ford, 24, from Moreton, Wirral, who was visiting with her boyfriend. This is the same individual who noticed Chapman walking back and forth around the enclosure. She mentioned that a woman was talking to Chapman before “he jumped in and crawled in front of the tiger, where the tiger was perched and just lay there.” She also said she saw the tiger grab Chapman and that he was shouting for help.
She also highlighted that the people around her were confused about the developments. “I just know some man was obviously trying to bang on the fence to try and deter the tiger away, but it obviously wasn’t doing anything,” she said. Besides this, Ford also expressed appreciation for how the situation was handled.
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