INTERNATIONAL: The Naples Zoo has closed for the day after a member of a cleaning service contracted by the zoo has suffered serious injuries when he entered an authorized area near a tiger that was inside its enclosure on Thursday.
The cleaning company is responsible for cleaning restrooms and the gift shop, not the animal enclosures. Preliminary information indicates that the man was either petting or feeding the animal, both of which are unauthorized and dangerous activities.
Initial reports indicate that the tiger has grabbed the man's arm and pulled it into the enclosure after the man traversed an initial fence barrier and put his arm through the fencing of the tiger enclosure. Deputies were called to the zoo at 6:26 p.m. The first deputy on scene kicked the enclosure and tried to get the tiger to release the man's arm from its mouth but the deputy was forced to shoot the animal.
The man, who is in his 20s, was seriously injured and was transported to an area hospital by Collier County EMS as a trauma alert. At this time the status of the tiger is unclear. The 4-year-old male Malayan tiger retreated to the back of the enclosure after it was shot. We have flown a drone into the enclosure and the tiger is not responding. A veterinarian has sedated the animal and will examine it when it is safe to do so.
