Visitors and staff members of Zoo Zurich in Switzerland are currently undergoing counseling after witnessing a 55-year-old zookeeper being severely mauled by Siberian Tiger, Irina.
On Saturday (July 4), Zoo Zurich workers rushed to the cage of a 5-year-old Siberian tiger after frightened visitors alerted them to the scene of an attack. When they arrived, the animal keeper’s colleagues were able to lure Irina away from attacking her to begin resuscitation.
In an official statement given by representatives for Zoo Zurich, the reps stated: “Despite immediate resuscitation measures, the 55-year-old woman was unfortunately too late to help and died on the spot.”
They continued: “The incident of Saturday is extremely tragic, and Zurich Zoo is deeply affected. Nevertheless, the zoo notes that the Amur tiger is a wild animal.”
While an investigation is underway as to how the zookeeper ended up in the “facility at the same time as the tiger,” Zoo Zurich has stated that the tiger involved will not face any consequences.
“A person in their facility is an intruder into their territory. In her reaction, she only followed her natural instincts,” the statement read. “The incident, therefore, has no consequences for the animal.”
Irina was born in 2015, at a zoo in Odense, Demark. Four years later (2019), she was transferred to Zurich Zoo, which is also home to a four-year-old male tiger named Sayan.
Due to the nature of the incident, the area surrounding the tiger’s compound will remain closed to the public.
