“The man started praying to the tiger, bowing down to it – the tiger looked a bit confused,” Hogan recalled. “Up until he got attacked, it was like he was in a trance, not in reality at all.”
She said the man then appeared to open his arms as the tiger approached.
“He had arms wide open ready for the tiger to attack him. It was quite bad. We were just stood there, frozen… the last thing we saw was the tiger’s jaw on his neck,” she added.
Animal keeper shares disturbing theory
Animal keeper Reece Oliver has shared his theory about Altai’s behavior, suggesting the tiger may not initially have understood what was happening.
“If it really wanted to kill him, it would have probably killed him within 10 seconds,” Oliver told Sky News.
“I don’t think it knew what he was going to do, because the only thing that goes into that enclosure normally would be enrichment toys or food.”
Oliver believes Altai’s predatory instincts may then have taken over, with what possibly began as curiosity or play ending in tragedy.
“So, I think he was probably just playing, using his predatory instinct, seeing what it was, what he was, and unfortunately it ended up being a fatal attack.”
South Yorkshire Police confirmed the incident in a statement released Saturday.
“At 1.35pm, we received reports of a man entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
“Emergency services attended and sadly, despite the best efforts of medical personnel, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.”
