Chitchat Yum Yum my cousin Tiger ate an Ang Moh in British Zoo! so yummy!

[lionsoup]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...cambridgeshire-enters-enclosure-a7762056.html


'Freak accident' led to female keeper being killed by tiger, Hamerton Zoo says

Cambridgeshire Police say a tiger entered an enclosure while the staff member was inside

Tom Batchelor
@_tombatchelor
Monday 29 May 2017 17:45 BST

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The Independent Online
hamerton-zoo-helicopter.jpg
Visitors to the attraction near Huntingdon were evacuated after reports of a ‘serious incident’ YouTube

A "freak accident" was to blame for the death of keeper who was killed by a tiger at Hamerton Zoo Park in Cambridgeshire.

"Our thoughts and sympathies are with our colleagues, friends and families at this dreadful time", the zoo said in a statement.

Visitors to the attraction near Huntingdon were evacuated on Monday morning after reports of a “serious incident”.

Cambridgeshire Police said in a statement that a tiger entered an enclosure while the keeper was inside.

Read more

Zoo in Cambridgeshire evacuated after 'very serious incident'

The force added that the tiger involved was believed to be fine, as Twitter users expressed fears over what would happen to the animal.

“Sadly the female zookeeper died at the scene,” it said. “At no time did the animal escape from the enclosure. No animals escaped the enclosure, no children were injured."

Eyewitness Jeff Knott, from Cambridgeshire, said staff had been "a real credit" to the zoo during the evacuation.

The 32-year-old told the Press Association: "We had been in the zoo since about 10.30am and heard/seen nothing until asked to leave about 11.45am. Staff were very calm and professional. All visitors around us were leaving in a very calm manner - no running, shouting or anything similar."

Initial reports on social media said a tiger had escaped from its enclosure; claims that were quickly refuted by police, who tried to reassure the public that no animals were on the loose.

An air ambulance and two rapid response vehicles were dispatched to the 25-acre site.

Antonia Brickell from Magpas air ambulance denied reports that visitors had been "running in terror", adding: "The visitors were safely evicted from the zoo.

Hamerton Zoo Park houses a variety of exotic animals, including Malaysian tigers, cheetahs and lemurs.

The zoo issued a warning in December last year after a visitor to the park scaled a metal fence barrier.

Four years ago, Sarah McClay died after being mauled by a Sumatran tiger at South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria.

The zoo was fined £255,000 at Preston Crown Court in June last year following the 24-year-old employee's death in May 2013.
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It received an additional £42,500 fine after it also pleaded guilty to other health and safety law breaches when a zookeeper fell from a ladder while preparing to feed big cats in July 2014.

Last October ZSL London Zoo was put on lockdown after Kumbuka the silverback gorilla managed to exit his enclosure through two security doors that had been left unlocked by a keeper.

Armed police were called to the central London attraction and visitors were evacuated when the alarm was raised following the ape's bid for freedom shortly after 5pm on October 13.

It follows the death of endangered gorilla Harambe, who was widely mourned after he was shot when a three-year-old boy fell into his Cincinnati Zoo enclosure in May 2016.




http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...e-serious-incident-police-tiger-a7761776.html


Zoo in Cambridgeshire evacuated after keeper killed by tiger

Claims on social media of an escaped tiger were ruled out by the police

Tom Batchelor
@_tombatchelor
Monday 29 May 2017 19:01 BST

Click to follow
The Independent Online
hamerton-zoo.jpg
Police said reports of an escaped tiger were untrue Heidi Maury

Visitors have been evacuated from Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire after keeper was killed by a tiger.

Police earlier denied reports on social media that a tiger had escaped from its enclosure.

Cambridgeshire Police said on Twitter they attended an incident at the 25-acre Hamerton Zoo Park near Huntingdon on Monday morning. A spokesperson confirmed no animals had escaped.

In a second statement on Monday evening, the force said a zookeeper had died.

Read more

Council renews licence for zoo where almost 500 animals have died

A statement released by the force said officers were called at around 11.15am to reports of a "serious incident".

"We can confirm that no animals have escaped and members of the public are safe," a statement said.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police said they had suspended contact with the media while they investigated and would release more details later.

Hamerton Zoo Park houses a variety of exotic animals, including Malaysian tigers, cheetahs and lemurs.

The zoo issued a warning to visitors in December last year after a visitor to the park scaled a metal fence barrier.

A spokesperson for the Mid Anglia General Practitioner Accident Service (Magpas) air ambulance said: "At 11:34am today, the air ambulance landed in a public place near Sawtry in Cambridgeshire, after the Magpas enhanced medical team were called to a very serious incident.

"An East of England Ambulance Service paramedic crew and two rapid response vehicles were also in attendance, alongside the police."

The zoo will remain closed for the rest of the bank holiday.

We attended an incident at Hamerton Zoo Park today. We are unable further info at this time but we can confirm that no animals have escaped.
— Cambs police (@CambsCops) May 29, 2017

Eyewitness Jeff Knott, from Cambridgeshire, said staff had been "a real credit" to the zoo during the evacuation.

The 32-year-old told the Press Association: "We had been in the zoo since about 10.30am and heard/seen nothing until asked to leave about 11.45am.

"Staff were very calm and professional. All visitors around us were leaving in a very calm manner - no running, shouting or anything similar."

On Saturday, the attraction announced it had finished work on two new enclosures. “Our latest development here at Hamerton Zoo Park…[was] finished yesterday allowing viewing of our Greater Flamingo flock, and one Cassowary enclosure,” the park’s website said.

 

[lionsoup]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...led-shining-light-zoo-hamerton-cambridgeshire





Cambridgeshire zookeeper killed by tiger was a 'shining light'

Rosa King now reunited with her beloved cheetahs, says wildlife photographer, as Hamerton Zoo Park remains closed
Rosa King.

Rosa King. ‘Her favourites were the cheetahs, which she would refer to as her pride and joy,’ says Garry Chisholm. Photograph: Facebook

Alice Ross and agency

Tuesday 30 May 2017 10.09 BST
First published on Tuesday 30 May 2017 08.15 BST

A zookeeper killed by a tiger on Monday has been described as the “shining light” of the Cambridgeshire zoo where she worked.

Rosa King, 33, died at Hamerton Zoo Park near Huntingdon after a tiger entered the enclosure where she was working.

King had worked at the zoo for about 14 years, her mother Andrea said. “She wouldn’t have done anything else; it’s what she has always done. It’s what she has always loved.”
Rosa King: Cambridgeshire zookeeper killed by tiger is named
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A friend said she was a lovely lady who was passionate about animals.

Garry Chisholm, a wildlife photographer in his spare time who knew King through visiting the zoo, said: “Rosa wasn’t just a keeper at Hamerton Zoo – she was Hamerton Zoo. She was the absolute central point of it, the focal point of it. She was the shining light of it. It revolved around her.”

Police and the Magpas air ambulance service were called to the attraction at 11.15am on Monday and visitors were asked to leave the site. The zoo said it would remain closed on Tuesday while an investigation was conducted.

The zoo said on Monday: “We are sorry but our staff are too distressed to speak directly to the media as one of our colleagues was killed this morning. This appears to be a freak accident.

“A full investigation is currently under way and we hope that more details can be announced as soon as possible. At no point during the incident did any animals escape their enclosures and at no point was public safety affected in any way.

“All our thoughts and sympathies are with our colleagues, friends and families at this dreadful time.”

Speaking on Monday, Chisholm, 59, said of King: “Her passion for the animals in her care was exceptional, though her favourites were undoubtedly the cheetahs, which she would refer to as her pride and joy.

“I feel privileged to have known Rosa and been able to call her a friend. She will be greatly missed, not just by me, but by everyone who came to know her. The only consolation I can take from today’s tragic events is that Rosa is now reunited with her beloved Ares the cheetah, and Blizzard and Ladybelle, her beloved tigers.”

Jeff Knott, 32, from Cambridgeshire, was visiting the zoo on Monday. He said staff had been a real credit during the evacuation.

“We had been in the zoo since about 10.30am and heard or seen nothing until asked to leave about 11.45am,” he said. “Staff were very calm and professional. All visitors around us were leaving in a very calm manner – no running, shouting or anything similar.”

Police said King’s death was “not believed to be suspicious” and that the tiger involved was “believed to be fine”.

Steve Backshall, host of the BBC nature programme Deadly 60, told Radio 4’s Today programme: “Protocols about how tigers are dealt with in captivity are incredibly stringent, because this is a very large and always potentially dangerous animal.

“When they’re fed, when their enclosure is cleaned, the animals are always taken away into a separate enclosure and clearly something has gone wrong with that process.”

Tigers experience an “artificial situation” in captivity, he said. “In the wild they’ll have enormous home ranges, they’ll very rarely come into contact with other tigers. In captivity, quite often they’ll be kept in relatively small enclosures with other tigers, and there’s no doubt that can cause artificial stresses within that enclosed population.”

Asked by the Today presenter, John Humphrys, whether it was cruel to keep tigers in zoos, Backshall said tigers were a big draw and helped to inspire visitors – particularly young people – about nature.