He had placed his hand in the enclosure of the tigers and was seen lying out in the zoo’s cage around 6:30 on Wednesday night. The big cat attempted to pull him in by grasping his arm.
The sheriff’s office captured bodycam footage that showed officers running to the scene of the incident.
A caller was asked by an official if the man was inside the cage.
“No. “No. He’s got mine,” the man can be heard wailing in pain as he answers the phone.
Officials stated that the man called 911 after being trapped outside the cage.
“Okay. “Okay. The official can be heard asking the man.
He replies, “Yes, please help,”
The officials arrive at the spot to see the man hanging from the cage with his bloodied arm, as the tiger grasps the cage with his jaw.
The man cries out, “I’m going die!”
As they try to remove the animal from its mouth, an official asks: “Do you have a tranquilliser?”
Officials shot the endangered 8-year-old tiger to death within minutes.
According to reports, the worker broke a barrier to gain entry to the compound that houses the cage of the tiger.
River Rosenquist (26-year-old) was rescued and airlifted to a local hospital. He is currently in a stable condition.
The zoo helped him to be recruited with the help of a third-party cleaner.
It is not clear why he was allowed to enter so close to the tigers, as the cleaning company is only responsible for cleaning the restrooms and gift shop.
Officials at the zoo stated that animal enclosures are not included in their work area.
The Naples Zoo authorities had to close the park for that day.
According to CBS, the man was either feeding or petting the big cat. Both of these are illegal and potentially dangerous activities.
