Altai, the Siberian tiger that killed a visitor at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, will not be euthanized, park officials confirmed Sunday.
The 420-pound male tiger mauled an unidentified man Saturday afternoon after the visitor climbed into the big cat’s enclosure from a viewing platform at the northern England wildlife attraction. South Yorkshire Police said emergency services rushed to the scene but pronounced the man dead despite medical efforts.
Park officials addressed public concern about Altai’s fate directly. “Many, many people have contacted us about Altai, the tiger,” Yorkshire Wildlife Park said in a Sunday statement. “We can reassure everyone that he is safe and well and will not be euthanised as a result of this incident.”
The park expressed condolences while managing the aftermath of the tragedy. “We would like to thank everyone who has expressed their concern following yesterday’s tragic incident,” the statement continued. “Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies remain with the family and loved ones of the man who sadly lost his life.”
Witnesses described disturbing behavior from the man in his final minutes. Visitors said he appeared to be dancing with AirPods in and “psyching himself up” before entering the enclosure. Audio footage captured him asking a couple to take pictures of him with the tiger in the background moments before the attack.
A woman’s voice can be heard in video filmed before the mauling saying, “I tried to stop him.” The footage shows the man pointing at the tiger as if trying to tell it off, leading some online observers to speculate he was making the gesture for “bad” in Makaton, a communication system similar to British Sign Language.
A witness claimed the man posed and took pictures of the tigers immediately before the tragedy. He is believed to have leapt from the viewing platform shortly after the photo request, clearing a 3-foot “stand-off” fence at the corner of the enclosure.
Rangers responded rapidly to the breach. They fired two warning shots from a shotgun to scare Altai back into his pen after the tiger dragged the man away. Black screens were erected around the visitors’ path to block sight of the gruesome scene, and an air ambulance circled before landing nearby.
The enclosure housing Altai and female tiger Tschuna spans two acres with woodlands and a waterfall pool, surrounded by a 16-foot fence. Altai was brought to the park specifically to mate with Tschuna, one of two Siberian tigers at the facility. No reason has been given for why the visitor chose to enter the enclosure.
The incident drew comment from prominent big-cat figures. Carole Baskin, the tiger sanctuary owner featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King,” weighed in internationally to insist the animal “was not doing anything wrong” when it fatally mauled the man.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park remained closed Sunday following the death as authorities continued their investigation.