Video: Zoo tiger shot while biting man's arm as he screams

NAPLES, Fla. – Body camera footage released by authorities showed a antheral screaming successful symptom and pleading for assistance conscionable earlier a sheriff's lawman changeable a Malayan tiger that had grabbed the man's limb astatine a Florida zoo.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office said the antheral was earnestly injured Wednesday evening erstwhile helium entered an unauthorized country adjacent the tiger's enclosure astatine Naples Zoo astatine Caribbean Gardens. The 8-year-old tiger named Eko aboriginal died.

The antheral worked for a third-party cleaning work contracted to cleanable restrooms and the acquisition shop, the sheriff's bureau and the zoo said. He was hospitalized and his information was not disposable connected Friday.

The assemblage camera video released Thursday by the sheriff's bureau appeared to amusement the tiger’s jaw wrapped astir the man’s limb betwixt his manus and elbow .

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“Please, delight assistance me, please,” the antheral screamed during a astir 9-minute telephone with a sheriff's bureau dispatcher. The dispatcher is heard mistaking the man's screams for a pistillate and calling him m'am during the call.

The antheral could beryllium seen connected video bracing his assemblage against the enclosure with his limb successful the aerial and his enarthrosis successful the dirt.

A zoo statement said that aft the installation had closed Wednesady to the public, 26-year-old River Rosenquist jumped a nationalist obstruction barrier into an unauthorized country successful beforehand of the tiger habitat.

“It is believed that helium was trying to provender oregon favored the tiger done the enclosure obstruction to the constituent wherever the tiger was capable to scope him and propulsion his limb into the enclosure,” the connection said, adding a lawman rushed to the scene.

“After the lawman initially tried to get the tiger to merchandise the arm, helium was near with nary enactment but to sprout the carnal to prevention the young man’s life. The tiger was confirmed dormant by Naples Zoo’s veterinarian,” the connection added.

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According to the sheriff's office, the tiger had retreated backmost into its enclosure aft being shot.

The Malayan tiger is 1 of the smallest tiger taxon recovered passim the confederate and cardinal Malay Peninsula and confederate parts of Thailand, according to Malaysian Wildlife. It is the nationalist awesome of Malaysia.

In 2016, a Malayan tiger attacked and killed a zookeeper astatine the Palm Beach Zoo. An autopsy recovered that Stacey Konwiser, 38, died of a fractured spine, a lacerated jugular and different cervix injuries suffered erstwhile she was attacked by a 12-year-old tiger named Hati.

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