A 21-Year-Old Man Is Mauled and Killed by Siberian Tigers
A 21-year-old man was found dead surrounded by three Siberian tigers at the Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark.
According to The Associated Press, zoo officials are unsure how and/or why the man was in the Siberian tiger den, but it is assumed the boy entered the den late Tuesday night between the hours of 10 and 11 p.m., from a low wall. However, there are no security cameras near the tiger den to be quite sure.
The boy whose family identified him this morning was born in Afghanistan and recently was granted Danish citizenship.
It appears that the young man may have been in the water, and attacked there. He withstood several wounds to his throat, face and chest. Officials believe it is possible the attack to his throat may have been the fatal injury leading to his death. Investigators are currently seeking to understand what may have prompted the man to enter the moat.
The zoo, which has been open for 153 years, has never experienced an incident like this one. According to Copenhagen Zoo’s manager Steffen Straede, there are no plans to reevaluate the security measures or even put the tigers down.
“If a person really wants to get in [there], we cannot prevent it from happening. It’s like jumping in front of a train. If you want to do it, you can do it,” he said.
Despite today’s unfortunate events, the zoo remained open for regular business operations. Many visitors did express that they planned on staying away from the tiger exhibit today.
The police are currently awaiting the young man’s autopsy report, and have decided to not release his name.
According to the National Geographic, Siberian tigers are the world’s largest cats. It is estimated, there is about 400 to 500 Siberian tigers living in the wild.