Man killed by tiger in UK wildlife park Picture | UK news

The man who was killed by a tiger at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park after entering its enclosure has been identified as William Chapman, Sky News understands.

Mr Chapman appears to have filmed himself tackling the animal in the moments before the attack, according to footage posted on his personal social media and seen by Sky News.

The footage apparently shows him at the tiger, which can be seen lying on top of a wooden platform, a few meters in front of the camera.

The person filming can be heard breathing heavily as distant voices shout “Oh my God” and “seriously”.

Earlier this week, South Yorkshire Police confirmed he visited the park alone on Saturday.

Witnesses near the building said people were frantically telling Mr Chapman to “play dead”, but it appeared he did not understand. He was heard telling Tiger to “stop being naughty”.

The park remained closed for a fourth day on Tuesday after being evacuated on Saturday.

Doncaster City Council said it had launched a health and safety investigation into the incident.

In a statement on social media on Saturday, the park said its “emergency response procedures were activated immediately”.

Another statement posted later said that “many, many people” had contacted them about the tiger, named Altai, and confirmed that the animal was “safe and well” and would not be euthanized.

witness ‘shaken up’

Several witnesses said they saw Mr Chapman “dancing with headphones on” shortly before he entered the building.

Anthony Hunt, who was at the wildlife park with his girlfriend Scarlet, said they were taking pictures of the tiger when they saw his posture change and his head turn.

“His eyes locked on something in the area. We thought maybe he was being fed. When Scarlett was taking pictures – we suddenly saw in the camera lens a guy enter the birth,” said Anthony.

The victim “bent down on all fours, began to pray, and looked at the sky,” he said.

“The tiger was still on the landing at this point” but then “jumped off the landing and snagged the guy”.

Anthony added that he and Scarlet later spoke to a woman who said she “tried to stop Mr Chapman” from entering the building, claiming she “tried to pull him back” but was unable to stop him.

“She was called up,” Anthony said.

Another witness, Alex Underwood, who was also at the zoo with his girlfriend, said: “We were on the tiger bridge and I saw him – he was dancing with his headphones on.”

“He said ‘Can you take a picture of me?’ “. She [my girlfriend] say ‘yes’. Then he said “another, another”. He didn’t look at the camera.

“He looked at both of us and said thank you.”

Alex, who said he left the bridge with his girlfriend a short time later, added: “We heard someone jump in and thought about him for some reason.”

Tigers use ‘predatory instinct’

Videos circulating online appear to show a man being pounced on and grabbed by the tiger in the enclosure.

Speaking to Sky News, animal conservationist Reece Oliver said the 30-stone (200kg) tiger was probably “just playing” when he began the attack.

“If it really wanted to kill him, it probably would have killed him within 10 seconds,” he said.

“I don’t think it knew what it was going to do because the only thing that goes into that area would usually be enrichment toys or food.

“So, I think he was probably just playing, using his predatory instinct, seeing what it was, what he was, and unfortunately it turned into a fatal attack.”

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In a social media post, Ed Miliband, Foreign Secretary and MP for Doncaster North, said he was “deeply saddened” by the incident, and that he “sends my thoughts and deepest condolences to the bereaved family”.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park opened in 2009, with the Land of the Tigers attraction opening in 2011. The park also houses lions, giraffes, tigers, leopards and black rhinos.

A 300-metre-long raised walkway runs through the attraction, which is a purpose-built, two-hectare reserve for Amur tigers, an endangered subspecies with a population of around 500 in the wild.