Tiger at Florida zoo shot and killed after attacking cleaning worker
A t💎iger at a Florida zoo was shot and killed by a deputy on Wednesday night after the animal bi🍃t a maintenance worker who entered an unauthorized area near the animal’s enclosure, authorities and a report said.
The cleaning worker, a man in his 20s employed by a third-party contractor of Naples Zoo, was either trying to pet or feed the 8-year-old Malayan tiger when it grabbed his arm and yanked him into the enclosure, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities were called to the scene at about 6:30 p.m., and the first 🎀deputy to arrive kicked the enclosure in a failed bid to get the tiger to release the worker, the sheriff’s office said.
Afterward, “the deputy was forced to shoot the animal,” the Collier County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The tiger, named Eko, later died, .
The worker suffered serious injuriꦜes and was airlifted toꦯ Lee Memorial Hospital.
Authorities said the employee was tasked with cleaning the zoo’s bathrooms and the gif🍸t shop𓃲, not animal enclosures.