A tiger attacked a female animal keeper at Australia's Dreamworld amusement park on Monday, CBS News reported, citing local authorities.
Park staff treated the bleeding wound until an ambulance arrived and took zookeeper Melissa Reynolds, 47, to hospital, Queensland Ambulance Service chief Justin Payne said, according to CBS News. ReportedThe incident occurred about an hour before the park was set to open to the public.
Animal keeper attacked by tiger at Australian theme park, injured in arm and rushed to hospital https://t.co/H7VPo6ANYq
—CBS News (@CBSNews) September 2, 2024
“We received a report of a 47-year-old female, an experienced zookeeper, having been bitten by a tiger at that location,” Payne said. “The patient had obviously suffered severe lacerations and puncture wounds from the tiger. She was pale and looked unwell but generally in good spirits.” (Related: Report: Tiger eats owl that escaped from zookeeper at Minnesota Zoo)
In addition to rides, Dreamworld amusement park also has animal exhibits. The park has an attraction called Tiger Island, which is home to nine Sumatran and Bengal tigers. According to Visit the Dreamworld website.
“There are approximately 4,000 tigers left in the wild and their survival is constantly under threat,” the website reads. The park noted that three subspecies of tiger are already extinct. The park described the incident with the zookeeper as “isolated and unusual” and vowed to “conduct a thorough investigation.” [into the incident] In response, Sky News Reported.
