Nocturnal 
A man has been left with serious injuries after reportedly jumping into a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, sparking a major emergency response that saw the whole site evacuated.
South Yorkshire Police said officers received reports at 1.35pm on Saturday that a man had entered a tiger enclosure at the park, near Doncaster. “The tiger has subsequently attacked the man and this has resulted in serious injury,” the force said in a statement, adding that officers were working to contact the man’s family and that no further details would be released at this time. The man has not been named.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it was called at 1.33pm and sent two land ambulances, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and a doctor to the scene.
What happened
Witnesses described chaos as staff moved quickly to clear the park. Tia Hanson, who was visiting with a friend, told The Star that the walkway past the tiger enclosure was closed off around 2pm. “It looks as if someone has jumped into the enclosure,” she said. “People are saying they heard a gunshot and they say someone either jumped in, or fell in.” She added that a black tarpaulin had been put up around the enclosure, and that she saw “loads of police and ambulance people and a stretcher” before being told to leave.
Another visitor, Dominic Ford, who was at the park with his four-year-old niece, said staff appeared “calm” as they ordered guests to evacuate, and described an air ambulance, an ambulance and “a hell of a lot of police” arriving on site.
Multiple witnesses reported hearing what sounded like gunshots, with some putting the number at up to five. South Yorkshire Police has not confirmed what the sounds were, though several outlets have reported it is believed staff fired gas canisters or tranquilliser equipment in an attempt to get the tiger away from the man. Police confirmed the tiger remained inside its enclosure after the incident and said there was “no wider risk to the public”.
Footage of the incident has been circulating on social media. South Yorkshire Police said it was aware of the videos and urged people not to share what it called “distressing footage”.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park has two Amur tigers, a female called Tschuna and a male named Altai who arrived at the park in March last year, though it has not been confirmed which animal was involved. The park also runs a paid “Tiger Experience” in the same area, though there is nothing to suggest it was connected to Saturday’s incident.
What happens next
Yorkshire Wildlife Park confirmed in a statement that a “serious incident” had occurred at the tiger enclosure and that emergency response procedures were activated immediately. “We are working closely with the authorities to ascertain exactly what happened,” the park said, adding that the safety of visitors, staff and animals remained its highest priority.
The park has been closed for the remainder of Saturday and will also stay shut on Sunday. South Yorkshire Police said enquiries were continuing at the scene, and the circumstances of how the man came to enter the enclosure have not yet been established. Nocturnal News will update this story as more details are confirmed.
