Woman “desperately tried to pull back” man who leapt into tiger pen at Yorkshire Wildlife Park
In video footage as the attack is ongoing a woman can be heard saying “I tried to stop him”
A woman “desperately tried to pull back” the man who was killed by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park seconds before he leapt into the big cat enclosure.
An eye witness who saw the bid to save him said, however, that the as yet unidentified male “overpowered” the woman who was with her two children - jumping from a bridge into the pen.
Shaken onlooker Scarlet Hogan was with her partner Anthony Hunt at the Land of the Tigers enclosure when the awful scenes unfolded on Saturday.
She told the Telegraph: “The man started praying to the tiger, bowing down to it – the tiger looked a bit confused. Up until he got attacked, it was like he was in a trance, not in reality at all.
“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.”
In video footage as the attack is ongoing a woman can be heard saying “I tried to stop him” to a man who utters “Jesus Christ” as the terrible mauling unfolds.
It is understood the victim was asking people to take a photo of him with the tiger - a Siberian named Altai - moments before and was seen dancing with AirPods in his ears.
As shots were fired to distract the huge predator, the park was evacuated and still remains closed today as a City of Doncaster Council health and safety investigation is conducted.
Meanwhile South Yorkshire Police has confirmed that the victim was unaccompanied at the park and that his family has requested that he not be named.