A man mauled to death by a tiger at a Yorkshire zoo had been 'praying and bowing' on all fours before being attacked, witnesses have claimed.
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witnesses → maul → fours
hoThe victim, believed to be in his 20s, climbed into the enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park at lunchtime on Saturday, when he was fatally injured by a 30st Siberian tiger in front of families.
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he → believe → families
Several visitors to the park have described the man behaving 'strangely' before he entered the compound - and suggested he may have had learning difficulties or mental health problems.
Anthony Hunt, 22, a university graduate, and Scarlet Hogan, 21, a pharmacy worker, first encountered the man as they parked up at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
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they → describe → Park
Mr Hunt said: 'We saw a guy walking very fast, dancing as he was walking with AirPods in.
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he → say → AirPods
'We saw him again, flying past the back of our car, walking fast.
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We → see → car
We thought he might have special needs, so we forgot about it.'
After wandering the zoo for a little while, the couple headed to the tiger enclosure, where they again saw the man behaving erratically.
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man → think → enclosure
'He was by himself, dancing with his phone out by the canopy.
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He → dance → canopy
We just walked past him.
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We → walk → him
Both tigers were on the wooden platform,' Mr Hunt said.
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Hunt → say → platform
A man was mauled to death by Altai (pictured), a Siberian tiger, after climbing into the big cat's enclosure
The scene at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday after a tiger mauled a man who entered its enclosure
Accounts from other witnesses suggest the man clambered off the side of the bridge - at which point a woman tried to haul him back up but 'wasn't strong enough'.
He then scaled the large fence surrounding the enclosure before dropping roughly 12ft to the ground and walking in 'nonchalantly'.
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He → maul → ground
Ms Hogan described how the tiger's behaviour immediately shifted and 'he went into stalk mode', while the man appeared to take selfies before 'getting on the floor and starting to pray'.
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man → describe → floor
'It looked like a performance,' Mr Hunt said.
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Hunt → look → performance
'He got down where everyone could see him in the main viewing area.
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everyone → get → area
He was on all fours, praying and bowing down to the tiger.
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He → pray → tiger
It was like he was waiting for the tiger.
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he → wait → tiger
He had his arms wide open like he was saying: "Come here, tiger.
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he → have → arms
Then the tiger came and started to attack him.
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tiger → come → him
'He started to fight back and screamed.
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He → start → ?
It was like he was just detached from reality.
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he → detach → reality
The last thing we saw was the tiger on his neck.'
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we → see → neck
Ms Hogan said: 'It is very bizarre and weird.
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It → say → ?
He was speaking in a different language while he was praying.'
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he → speak → language
An air ambulance and police van are seen at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday afternoon
Flowers placed by a local resident near the entrance to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park
They said the man seemed to be 'on a mission', and the ritual he performed near the tiger looked to be 'religious'.
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he → see → tiger
Mr Hunt concluded: 'I have never frozen before in my life, but I just froze.'
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I → conclude → life
Footage posted to social media shows Altai clawing and 'ragdolling' the man.
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Altai → post → man
He screamed 'stop' several times, causing the tiger to retreat temporarily, but the animal ultimately acted on its instincts and inflicted fatal injuries.
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animal → scream → injuries
During the attack, the man also appeared to make a fist and wag his little finger, which has been identified as resembling the gesture for 'bad' in Makaton - a sign language system often used by those with communication difficulties.
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which → appear → difficulties
Zookeepers were said to have done 'everything they could' to drive Altai off, firing five loud acoustic gun blasts in attempts to scare him.
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they → say → him
Two ambulances and a helicopter rushed to the park at 1:35pm, with a 'black screen' erected around the enclosure as lifesaving treatment was attempted.
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treatment → rush → enclosure
Tragically, however, the man was later pronounced dead.
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man → pronounce → ?
Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which remained closed on Sunday, confirmed that Altai will not be euthanised in the wake of the incident.
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Altai → remain → incident
Altai arrived at the park in February 2025 from Dyreparken Zoo in Norway, where he was born
An animal ranger at the zoo, Charlotte Pywell, said: 'I was not there.
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I → arrive → zoo
I don’t know who the guy was or what made him jump.
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him → know → ?
It was just something else to play with.
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It → play → ?
In a statement, the park said: 'Many, many people have contacted us about Altai, the tiger.
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people → say → Altai
We can reassure everyone that he is safe and well and will not be euthanised as a result of this incident.
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he → reassure → incident
We would like to thank everyone who has expressed their concern following yesterday's tragic incident.'
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who → like → incident
A source told the Manchester Evening News on Sunday: 'Shots were fired into the air to make a noise and distract the tiger.
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Shots → tell → tiger
The animal wasn't shot and is absolutely fine and not injured.
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animal → shoot → ?
You would have to really want to get inside the enclosure to be able to do it.
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You → have → it
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
