Zookeeper killed after being attacked by tiger when he left cage door open

A tiger reportedly mauled a zookeeper to death after he forgot to close the security door in Romania.

The man, 52, entered the tiger enclosure to clean it this morning but was ‘bitten on the head’ by the big cat.

Pitești Zoo’s safety protocol states that tigers must be moved to a high-fenced cage behind a security door before someone goes inside.

But the caretaker forgot to lower the security door, allowing the tiger to return while he was cleaning, Romanian newspaper Adevărul reported.

Pitești City Hall said: ‘Unfortunately, this violation led to a fatal attack by the animal.’

The man was declared dead at the zoo – about 60 miles from Bucharest, Romania – after emergency services arrived in 10 minutes.

Witnesses told Evenimentul Zilei that the incident was ‘extremely violent’.

Zoo staff blocked the door so none of the other five tigers in the enclosure would escape.

City Hall said the man, who had worked at the zoo since 2015, had no known health problems.

Prosecutors and the police opened an investigation into the death.

Mayor Cristian Gentea said: ‘It is a huge loss, and our thoughts go out to the victim’s family and all their loved ones in these moments of pain.

‘From the first available information, the incident occurred as a result of the employee’s strict failure to comply with safety protocols, mandatory protocols for working with wild animals.’

Pitești City Hall said zoo officials are taking ‘any necessary measures to prevent such tragedies in the future’.

It was ‘the first incident of this kind that has occurred within the institution in the last 50 years’, the statement added.

In 2000, a tiger escaped from Pitești Zoo after several doors were left unlocked.

Last year, a tiger escaped from Sibiu Zoo because a worker forgot to lock a door.

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