8-Year-Old Malayan Tiger Eko Fatally Shot In Florida Zoo After It Attacked Worker
Injured cleaning worker in hospital, could face action as he was not supposed to be in the area. Naples Zoo defends action, says will start a tiger conservation fund in memory of Eko.
New Delhi: Officers had to shoot a tiger at the Florida zoo after it attacked a cleaning worker who had reportedly put his arm into the animal’s enclosure.
NBC News reported that the worker could now face action.
The incident took place at the Naples Zoo in Florida on Wednesday evening.
Quoting the zoo authorities, NBC News said the man in his 20s was not supposed to be in that area as he worked for a third-party cleaning service that had been hired to clean restrooms and the gift shop in the zoo.
In a statement, Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk’s Office said deputies were called to the zoo, which was closed at the time, around 6:30 pm and they saw the tiger, Eko, had the worker’s arm in its mouth.
One of the deputies kicked the enclosure to get the tiger to release the man’s arm but it didn’t, forcing him to shoot, the sheriff’s office was quoted as saying.
Eko was an eight-year-old Malayan tiger, the zoo said. It retreated into its enclosure after being shot at, and was sedated by a veterinarian at the zoo so it could be examined, but it later died, the report said.
Just a day before this, the zoo had posted a image of the bog cat relaxing in its enclosure with its tongue out.
Happy #TongueOutTuesday from Malayan tiger Eko!#NaplesZoo #Tiger pic.twitter.com/J8ZcZRGUqr
— Naples Zoo (@NaplesZoo) December 28, 2021
Meanwhile, the injured worker was taken to hospital in a serious condition, the sheriff’s office said. A follow-up report on NBC News said Thursday no update on his condition was available.
Zoo Defends Decision To Shoot Tiger
Quoting the sheriff's office, the report said an investigation would determine if charges would be filed against the worker, without mentioning what they could be.
Sheriff Rambosk defended his deputy’s decision to shoot the tiger.
Body camera video footage showed a deputy asking if a tranquilliser was available and was told no. The officer shot the tiger after efforts to distract the animal failed.
“Our deputy did everything he could do in that situation and he ultimately made the only possible decision he could in order to save this man’s life,” Rambosk’s statement read.
Quoting Naples Zoo marketing director Courtney Jolly, the report said the zoo has a crisis team comprising a shooter and lead darter present when it is open, but they were not there since the zoo was closed when the incident occurred.
“Resolving this situation with a tranquilizer dart would not have been appropriate given the immediate crisis,” the zoo said on its website.
In a statement, the zoo authorities said they are establishing a tiger conservation fund in memory of Eko.
Seeking donations, the zoo wrote: “With a breeding population below 200 tigers in the wild, Naples Zoo is establishing the Eko Tiger Conservation Fund. 100% of the funds received will go to helping save tigers in Malaysia through the efforts of the Wildlife Conservation Society, an organization that Naples Zoo has supported for many years.”
The website ideltified Malyan tigers as "critically endangered".
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