Wildlife park confirms tiger will not be euthanised after man mauled to death

Yorkshire Wildlife Park was closed on Sunday and its staff have been given ‘specialist support’. Photograph: Annabel Lee-Ellis/PAView image in fullscreenYorkshire Wildlife Park was closed on Sunday and its staff have been given ‘specialist support’. Photograph: Annabel Lee-Ellis/PAWildlife park confirms tiger will not be euthanised after man mauled to deathEd Miliband offers ‘deepest condolences’ to family of the visitor who entered animal enclosure on Saturday

A wildlife park in Yorkshire has confirmed the tiger that mauled to death a man who entered its enclosure will not be euthanised.

A man, who has not yet been named, was seen entering a tiger enclosure at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, located near Doncaster, before police were called at 1.35pm on Saturday.

South Yorkshire police said the tiger “subsequently attacked the man, resulting in serious injury” and despite the efforts of emergency services, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

In a statement on Sunday, the wildlife park thanked those who had expressed concern after the “tragic incident” and said their “thoughts and heartfelt sympathies” remained with the family of the man who lost his life.

“The park will be closed today and the staff team who were deeply affected by events will receive specialist support,” the statement read. The park also confirmed that the tiger, named Altai, was “safe and well and will not be euthanised” after the incident.

The foreign secretary and MP for Doncaster North, Ed Miliband, said he was “deeply saddened” and sent his “thoughts and deepest condolences to the family of the individual who died”.

“I am very grateful to the emergency services and staff of the park who responded,” Miliband added.

One visitor at the park, Marie Miller, wrote in a Facebook post that she had seen the man before the incident and he was “happily enjoying” his visit. Miller said the man had asked a stranger to take a picture of him.

“The man who I saw on the bridge with his earpods in dancing was happily enjoying seeing the tiger,” the post read.

“He asked a total stranger to take a picture of him with the tiger in the background.”

Another visitor, who did not want to be identified, told the South West News Service that it was “frightening and confusing” when the park was evacuated after the incident.

She said: “At first, we were all scared and confused because we had no idea what was going on. Different routes had been closed off, and staff were positioned around the park directing visitors where to go.”

“The scariest part was not knowing what was happening,” she added.

The visitor said she heard people saying the man was 22, but was unable to confirm this. “As we walked past the police near the tiger enclosure, we saw officers surrounding a young man in the tiger enclosure,” she said. “We saw an air ambulance outside the park, although, from what we observed, it didn’t take anyone away.”

South Yorkshire police said the man’s family was made aware of the incident on Saturday and were being supported by specialist officers. The force has encouraged people not to share videos of the incident that have been circulating online.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park opened in 2009, with the Land of the Tigers attraction opening in 2011. The attraction is on a purpose-built 2-acre reserve for Amur tigers, an endangered subspecies with about 500 left in the wild.