The zookeeper who was killed by a tiger as visitors heard a ‘blood-curdling’ scream from the enclosure has been named as Rosa King. The 33-year-old’s colleagues desperately tried to save her by distracting the big cat with chunks of meat, witnesses said.
More than 100 visitors were evacuated from Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire as ‘all hell broke loose’ and police and paramedics rushed to the scene.
Witness Pete Davis said he believed Miss King was attacked after rushing to help a colleague in the tiger enclosure.
He said: ‘There’s no doubting it was a girl’s scream and something terrible had happened. It sounds like a tiger turned on her
‘She had run into the enclosure after hearing one of her colleagues shouting and moments later all hell let loose.
‘She let out a blood-curdling scream and then another keeper ran out and shouted “run”.
‘It was a case of total panic. There were keepers rushing about throwing buckets of meat to try and get the tigers under control.’
Miss King’s friend, wildlife photographer Garry Chisholm, said last night: ‘I have lost a very dear friend who loved the animals in her care very much.
‘I would like to say more but I am struggling to take in this news at the moment.’
A relative of the zookeeper told The Sun: ‘She loved those animals. It’s absolutely tragic.
‘She would walk in the cheetah cage and play football with them. She was at home with them.’
Miss King grew up in Chippenham, Wiltshire, and attended Hardenhuish School before studying for a national diploma in animal care at Wiltshire College.
She had planned to take part in a skydive with four zoo colleagues to raise money for the Cheetah Conservation Fund UK on July 6.
Carpenter Mr Davis, 55, who was at the small zoo with his family, said he saw keepers with their heads in their hands. He added: ‘People were really scared, they asked us to leave straight after that and closed the park.’
A zoo spokesman last night said staff were ‘too distressed’ to talk to the media.
He said: ‘This appears to have been a freak accident. A full investigation is under way and we hope that more details can be announced as soon as we are able.
‘At no point during the incident did any animals escape their enclosures, and at no point was public safety affected in any way. All our thoughts and sympathies are with our colleagues, friends and families at this dreadful time.’
The park will not open today while the investigation continues.
An air ambulance was called to the zoo near Huntingdon in an attempt to save Miss King’s life shortly after 11.30am.
Visitors to the park took to Facebook to describe what happened.
Victoria Northover Homes said: ‘We’ve just had to hide thinking a tiger was loose. Something has gone wrong with a keeper and a tiger.’
She added: ‘I was taking photos of them [the tigers] in the field, then they came directly to the fence. At this point some of the keepers came running down the hill towards the next tiger enclosure. We didn’t know what was happening but they looked worried. I carried on walking down the hill towards the next enclosure when someone shouted “run”.
‘A group of us ran into the keepers’ rooms for about ten minutes until a keeper said we could leave.
‘At this point we understood by the reactions of the staff that something was going on inside the enclosure.
‘We could see staff members on the other side of the fence with pieces of meat trying to get whatever’s attention.
‘It was heart-breaking seeing them trying to help.’
Maxine Foster-Johnson said: ‘We got there as it all happened.
‘I just can’t imagine how devastating it was for the poor workmates who desperately ran to try and distract the tiger with large lumps of meat.’
Aerial footage yesterday showed a big cat prowling the perimeter of a large enclosure as uniformed police officers stood guard.
Hamerton Zoo Park opened in June 1990 and covers 25 acres. It includes enclosures for Malaysian tigers, Bengal tigers, cheetahs, wolves, corsac foxes and kangaroos, as well as a variety of birds, reptiles and domestic animals. The zoo opened a new enclosure for its Malaysian tigers in July last year. The park is home to Bengal tigers Shiva and Mohan and Malaysian tigers Cicip and Sahaja.
A Cambridgeshire Constabulary spokesman said: ‘A tiger had entered an enclosure with a keeper. Sadly the female zookeeper died at the scene.’
n 2013, Sarah McClay, 24, from Glasgow, was mauled to death by a Sumatran tiger at South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Cumbria.
The zoo was fined £255,000 after a faulty gate allowed a tiger called Padang to escape its den and pounce as she did her rounds.
The zoo went on to be branded the worst in Britain after nearly 500 animals died amid ‘deplorable’ welfare standards.
Three zookeepers were killed by big cats at zoos run by the late John Aspinall, who believed they should be allowed close access to bond with the animals.
In 1980, he was forced to shoot two Siberian tigers that killed keepers Brian Stocks and Bob Wilson within weeks of each other at Howletts, near Canterbury.
In 1994, Trevor Smith, 32, head keeper at the same zoo, was killed by a tiger.
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