Zookeeper of 25 years at a safari park was doing her regular rounds. Then her colleagues hear her screaming over the walkie-talkie
‘They are and remain predators.’
A veteran zookeeper is currently in critical condition after a brutal encounter with a Persian leopard at a safari park in the Netherlands. The incident, which occurred on Saturday, October 24, has left the staff at Beekse Bergen in Hilvarenbeek reeling. The zookeeper, who has dedicated nearly 40 years to working at the park, was performing her regular rounds when the attack took place inside an indoor enclosure.
According to PEOPLE, at around 11 a.m., the situation turned dire. Colleagues at the park heard the woman screaming for help over her walkie-talkie after she was attacked by at least one of the two Persian leopards housed in the area. The animals had been kept in their indoor enclosure due to a storm that occurred on Friday. It remains unclear if both animals were involved in the attack.
The zookeeper was discovered by her colleagues within the enclosure. They raised the alarm immediately. Emergency services arrived on the scene quickly, and a trauma helicopter was deployed to assist with her transport. She suffered severe injuries to her head and neck during the encounter. She was rushed to a hospital, where she underwent surgery on Saturday.
Her condition took a turn for the worse
While the woman survived the initial surgery and the first night, her condition took a turn for the worse on Sunday. According to Omroep Brabant, latest updates from the park indicate that she is being kept sedated and is currently not responsive. A spokesperson for the park noted that her condition deteriorated significantly throughout the day on Sunday.
The victim is an incredibly experienced professional. She began her career at the park at the age of 17 and has worked with animals there, with some interruptions, for nearly four decades. Martin van Hees, the Head of Animal Care at Beekse Bergen, described her as a highly capable employee who is always very alert to safety.
He expressed his deep sadness regarding the situation. “We know there is a risk when working with dangerous animals, but you never want to experience something like this. She is a very experienced animal caretaker, always very alert to safety. It is deeply sad that this has happened. But we know that something like this can happen when working with dangerous animals,” van Hees told the press.
The park maintains strict safety protocols for handling predators
Keepers typically work in pairs and remain close to one another, but they enter enclosures separately to ensure that two people can never open a door at the same time. This is intended to prevent accidents. While it seems the protocol was followed, something went wrong, and the zookeeper ended up in the same space as the predator. Because there are no cameras in the enclosure, the exact sequence of events remains a mystery.
The Netherlands’ Labour Inspectorate has launched an investigation into the incident alongside the safari park. They are looking into the safety protocols to determine how this occurred. Park officials have acknowledged that while the location of the animals was known, it is unclear if the zookeeper was aware that the leopards were in the indoor enclosure at that specific moment.
Despite the severity of the attack, the park has confirmed that the leopard will not be put down. The animals are being cared for as usual. Officials maintain that the leopards were simply acting on their instincts.
“We are not going to do anything with the panther,” van Hees stated. “He simply sat in his enclosure and did what he did. The animal cannot help it.” A park spokesperson echoed this sentiment, noting that the animals exhibited natural behavior. “They are and remain predators,” the spokesperson added.
Park visitors described the atmosphere as the emergency response began
Annelies de Jonge, who was visiting with her family, said, “We were standing with our family and grandchildren by the safari bus when suddenly several employees and cars headed in that direction. People who were already on the bus had to get out. Later, we heard that a caretaker had been injured.”
The park remains open in consultation with the victim’s family. Victim support has been provided to the staff who witnessed the aftermath or are struggling with the news.
According to Dutch News, Wineke Schoo, director of the Dutch Association of Zoos, described the incident as a “worst case scenario.” She noted that she has only seen one similar incident in 25 years of Dutch zookeeping, which involved a lion attack back in 2001. For now, the park and the authorities continue their investigation while the community waits for news on the condition of the long-serving zookeeper.
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