Eko, a rare 8-year-old Malayan tiger, was shot and killed by a deputy after the animal bit a 26-year-old man who reached through the fence, investigators say. With fewer than 300 Malayan tigers left on Earth, the man could face charges.
Authorities are considering charges against a man attacked by a tiger after entering an unauthorized area after hours at a Naples, Florida, zoo, leaving a deputy no choice but to kill the critically endangered cat. Zoo officials’ thoughts are with the badly injured man — identified as 26-year-old River Rosenquist of Naples — who is facing an arduous healing process, said Jack Mulvena, president and CEO of Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens. He noted that Rosenquist, who worked for a commercial cleaning vendor, repeatedly told a 911 dispatcher, “I’m sorry,” as he pleaded for help Wednesday evening.
A man suffered serious injuries after being attacked by a tiger at a Florida zoo. The tiger was shot and killed“Our thoughts and well wishes are with River Rosenquist and his family and his doctors in what is going to be a very difficult recovery,” Mulvena said. “It was a bad mistake, a bad decision, but we only wish him well in the recovery and I want to say that from the heart.”
Mulvena praised the Collier County deputy who killed the tiger. Following the incident, the zoo CEO met with his weapons team, which would’ve been dispatched had the attack occurred during zoo hours. Its members told him they would’ve taken the same course of action as the deputy, he said.https://311277e5bacc576363b223e44d7bcbf5.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
“Their deputy tried to distract the tiger first, as you saw from the footage, and faced a very difficult decision — and we support that decision,” Mulvena said.
The jarring 911 call
The cleaning company for which Rosenquist works typically cleans the zoo hospital, commissary, gift shop, and two bathrooms, Mulvena said. Third-party employees are not supposed to enter certain areas in the zoo.” Their job is very specific, and they’re not to be in any areas that they’re not supposed to be in,” he said. Mulvena is not sure why Rosenquist climbed over the visitor barrier designed to separate zoo patrons from Eko, the 8-year-old Malayan tiger, he said.”We suspect it was to pet or to feed, but we don’t know for certain. Only River knows that,” Mulvena said.
‘You did the right thing’
A body camera captures the deputy and a zoo employee running down a dark path toward the tiger enclosure. Upon hearing Rosenquist crying for help, the deputy says, “Oh my God, is that real?”The zoo worker says, “Oh my God! Eko! Eko!”Rosenquist is on the ground, his foot pressed against the fence. His mangled arm is through the fence, Eko’s jaws clamped around it. As Rosenquist continues to plead for help, the deputy asks for a tranquilizer and tries to distract the animal before approaching the fence, training his weapon on the big cat and firing. The deputy had to make the decision within 40 seconds.
State and federal charges possible?
According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Eko retreated to the back of his enclosure after being shot. Deputies launched a drone and found the tiger unresponsive.A zoo veterinarian tranquilized Eko for safe measure and entered the cage, where he found the tiger dead.”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,” Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said. “This was a tragic encounter at our world-class zoo facility.”Mulvena said the CCSO, too, is world class, lauding the deputy’s “exceptional” response time.
Necropsy planned Monday
The local cleaning company for which Rosenquist works has been “fabulous to work with in the past,” Mulvena said, but the zoo is suspending service for the time being. There have been no prior problems, he said. Likewise, this is the first incident of its kind at Naples Zoo and with Eko, zoo spokeswoman Courtney Jolly said, explaining the zoo has never had “, anybody breaches a barrier fence and put themselves in this situation.”The investigation thus far indicates the zoo is “doing what we needed to do and were following all of the appropriate safety protocols,” Mulvena said.
Eko is “lying at rest” in the zoo hospital ahead of a Monday necropsy. The tiger was shot in the neck, and there is no exit wound, so Mulvena suspects the cause of death will likely be internal bleeding. Eko will be incinerated following the necropsy, he said. Asked if zoo officials took any lessons from the incident, Mulvena told reporters, “I think the lesson learned is that you can’t 100% prevent people from making really, really horrible decisions. I don’t know what to say other than that.”