Tiger kills female zookeeper at Spanish animal park

A tiger has attacked and killed a zookeeper in its cage at a Spanish animal park.

The discovery of the female keeper's body was made at around 5pm at the Terra Natura park in the south-eastern coastal resort town of Benidorm.

“The tiger was still in the cage with the 37-year-old keeper,” a Red Cross spokesman said.

Zoo staff euthanised the tiger with sedative darts so that emergency workers could enter the enclosure. They pronounced the woman dead.

Reports said the park was open at the time but that the attack was not witnessed by visitors.

Police were investigating.

The Terra Natura in Benidorm, which is in Spain’s Alicante province, promotes itself on its website as “a new generation” animal park, with a habitat area created for each of 200 species of animals.

Its website describes the park as an “immersion zoo”, with more than 1,500 animals.

AFP