Tiger seriously injures man who jumped into enclosure at Yorkshire zoo in front of stunned parkgoers before animal ‘is shot at’ by staff

An ‘agitated’ man has been left with serious injuries after being mauled by a tiger when he jumped into its enclosure at a zoo, before shots were fired by staff.

The man, who has not been identified, entered the enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park at around 1.30pm this afternoon, police said.

Footage recorded by shocked parkgoers showed the attack.

Emergency services rushed to the park following reports of the attack, with two land ambulances and a helicopter scrambled to the scene. 

South Yorkshire Police said the man has sustained serious injuries and officers are making urgent enquiries to try and contact his family. The force added no further details will be released at this time. 

It is thought that gas canisters were shot to scare the cat back into its enclosure after the attack, which has since had a black screen erected around it, and eyewitnesses reported hearing up to five shots ring out.

The park has two Amur tigers, a 17-stone female called Tschuna and a male called Altai, who only arrived in March last year.

The wildlife park, near Doncaster, has been evacuated and will be closed for the rest of the day and on Sunday.

Video footage shared on social media shows a man wearing a black sweatshirt kneeling on the ground with his arms out wide as the tiger attacks him from behind.

The tiger is seen to bite the man on his back before mauling him on the ground and standing over him. 

The man, who remains unknown, then points his finger at the animal and can be heard repeatedly screaming ‘stop.’

In another video of the attack, the tiger can be seen toying with the man and holding him on the ground with its paws.

Witness Dominic Ford, who was visiting the park this afternoon with his four-year-old niece, said he was ordered to evacuate by staff who appeared ‘calm’.

Mr Ford said an air ambulance, ambulance and ‘a hell of a lot of police came.’

Another visitor to the park, Tia Hanson, told The Star she and a friend were at the scene when the walkway between the tiger enclosure and the exit was closed. 

She said: ‘It looks as if someone has jumped into the enclosure. People are saying they heard a gunshot and they say someone either jumped in, or fell in.

‘When you’re leaving you have to walk past the tiger enclosure and they’ve put up all sort of black tarpaulin so you couldn’t really see.’

A statement released by the park has confirmed a ‘serious incident’ occurred today at the tiger enclosure. 

It reads: ‘Our emergency response procedures were immediately activated, and emergency services are currently attending the scene. 

‘We are working closely with the authorities to ascertain exactly what happened

‘The safety and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and animals remain our highest priority. The park is now closed and will remain closed tomorrow.’ 

A Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘I can confirm we were called at 13.33 on Saturday 10 October 2026 to an incident at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster. 

‘We sent a number of resources, including two land ambulances, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and a doctor. Any further enquiries should be directed to South Yorkshire Police.’

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: ‘At 1.35pm today (Saturday 10 October) we received reports of a man entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

‘The tiger has subsequently attacked the man and this has resulted in serious injury.

‘Officers are working at pace to make contact with the man’s family and no further detail will be provided at this time.

‘The tiger remained in the enclosure following the incident and there is no wider risk to the public.

‘Following the incident, Yorkshire Wildlife Park was evacuated and officers remain on scene carrying out enquiries.’

The attack comes only months after a three-year-old boy was thrown into a crocodile pit by a disabled man in Cambridgeshire.

The toddler was hurled 15ft into an enclosure containing at least 15 reptiles and bitten by a croc at Johnsons of Old Hurst in Huntingdon on June 18.

He was taken to hospital after he reportedly landed on a concrete walkway, suffering a broken arm and pelvis. He has since undergone seven gruelling operations, including a nerve graft aimed at restoring some function to one of his hands.

The 30-year-old suspect, who has a learning disability, was visiting the zoo with two carers when he launched the attack. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder later that day.

Were YOU at Yorkshire Wildlife Park? Email elizabeth.haigh@dailymail.co.uk