Rare Endangered Tiger Shot and Killed While Attacking Zoo Worker

 

NAPLES, FL- A cleaning worker was severely injured by an endangered tiger Wednesday at Naples Zoo in Florida after he putting his arm into the big cat’s enclosure.

Deputies were called to Naples Zoo around 6:30 p.m. and discovered the tiger with the workers arm still firmly in its mouth.

After attempting to get the tiger to let go of the worker, the deputies were forced to shoot the 8-year-old big cat. The tiger let go and was eventually sedated by veterinarians to be examined. According to a zoo representative, the tiger, named Eko, later died.

The worker, who was employed by a third-party cleaning service, was not supposed to be in the area around Eko’s enclosure as he was hired to clean the gift shop and bathrooms.

Preliminary information from the sheriff’s office said the man appeared to be trying to pet or feed the tiger.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is investigating the incident.

Eko was the only Malayan tiger at the Naples Zoo and came from Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo in 2019. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Malayan tiger is critically endangered and an estimated 200 live in the wild.

Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily

The LIVE! Daily is the "newspaper to your email" for San Angelo. Each content-packed edition has weather, the popular Top of the Email opinion and rumor mill column, news around the state of Texas, news around west Texas, the latest news stories from San Angelo LIVE!, events, and the most recent obituaries. The bottom of the email contains the most recent rants and comments. The LIVE! daily is emailed 5 days per week. On Sundays, subscribers receive the West Texas Real Estate LIVE! email.

Required

Most Recent Videos

Comments

The wrong animal died in this incident. There are far more than 200 idiots in this world. 

I think I'll go pet a tiger at a closed zoo, while nobody is there to save me. Nothing could possibly go wrong..

CGM5, Fri, 12/31/2021 - 11:15

Darwin's Law was trying to play out but, the Deputies interfered. Now the guy that decided it's ok to reach into a tiger's cage and pet it, will still be in the gene pool.

Post a comment to this article here:

X Close