The “Land of Tigers” exhibit at Yorkshire Wildlife Park reopened Friday with the Siberian tiger that killed an intruder six days earlier visible to visitors once again.
Altai, the predator involved in Saturday’s fatal mauling, was seen lying calmly on his stomach in his pen as staff fielded questions from the public. The exhibit in northern England had been shut since 24-year-old William Chapman breached two security fences and entered the off-limits enclosure.
Chapman died at the scene from what the coroner’s office ruled “multiple traumatic injuries” sustained during the animal interaction. The troubled young man had climbed the barriers and approached the tiger with open arms before being dragged to a wooded area as horrified onlookers watched.
Minutes before the fatal breach, witnesses described Chapman as appearing happy, pacing with headphones in. One video captured him asking another visitor to take his photo with the tiger.
Eyewitness Anthony Hunt, speaking to the Times of London, described the final moments in detail. “He had his arms wide open like he was saying: ‘Come here tiger. Kill me,'” he said.
Hunt continued, “Once inside, the man dropped to his knees in front of the predator and began taunting it.”
The tiger then clamped down on Chapman’s neck and dragged him away.
Chapman’s family informed investigators that he “had a history of mental illness, a diagnosis of schizophrenia” and had been receiving care from mental health services. The young actor had previously starred opposite Shirley Henderson in the two-part ITV series “May Contain Nuts” and trained at the Jackie Palmer Stage School.
A park spokesperson confirmed earlier that the tiger was “safe and well and will not be euthanized.” The decision to spare Altai drew visitors back to the exhibit less than a week after the tragedy, with crowds packing in to see the animal as it rested in its reopened habitat.
The reopened exhibit and the tiger’s visible presence mark a swift return to operations for the wildlife park following one of the most disturbing incidents in its history.