According to zoo officials, a tiger mauled a “experienced” animal handler at an Australian entertainment park, leaving her with critical injuries.
The woman, 47, was attacked by the tiger on Monday morning while she was working at Dreamworld, a popular tourist destination on Queensland’s Gold Coast that also has a wildlife park, according to local director of the Queensland Ambulance Service Justin Payne.
“We were advised that at that location a 47-year-old female, an experienced handler, had been bitten by one of the tigers,” Payne said.
“The patient obviously had received some serious lacerations and puncture wounds from the animal. She was quite pale and feeling unwell, but generally well.”
Payne stated that an ambulance was dispatched to Dreamworld shortly before 9 a.m. local time, an hour before the theme park opens to tourists.
According to Payne, the woman, whose identity has not been revealed, was transferred to Gold Coast University Hospital in stable condition.
It is unclear what provoked the attack.
“She is one of the experienced and senior handlers there at Dreamworld… it’s good to see that she was able to be looked after by other support staff there,” Payne said.
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In a statement, the theme park—which features both rides and animal exhibits—described the attack as a “isolated and rare incident” that will be looked into.
“Dreamworld acknowledges an incident that occurred involving one of the park’s tigers and a trained tiger handler,” a spokesperson said.
“Dreamworld’s immediate focus is on the support of the team member. This was an isolated and rare incident, and we will conduct a thorough review accordingly.”
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