COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A 50-year-old man has been attacked by a tiger at an animal sanctuary in Florida.
According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, preliminary information shows the tiger was in an enclosure at Wooten’s Airboats in Ochopee in the Everglades area being fed by its caretaker.
Another employee of Wooten’s, who was not authorized to be with the big cat, entered the tiger’s enclosure.
The tiger then attacked the man and caused injuries to both of his arms. Deputies said the man had to be taken to a nearby hospital.
According to authorities, the tiger’s caretaker was able to safely contain the tiger and was not injured.
“We are having a hard time comprehending this happening again,” the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.
This is the second tiger attack in the county in the last three months. In December, a Malayan tiger at the Naples Zoo grabbed the arm of a man who stuck his arm into its enclosure.
The tiger in that incident was shot and killed by deputies who were trying to rescue the man, identified as 26-year-old River Rosenquist.
In early February, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying no applicable existing laws were found “to charge Mr. River Rosenquist for his irresponsible acts that ultimately caused the death of Eko the tiger.”
