Although they may be locked behind wire or glass cages, the animals at zoos are still wild at heart. This tragic mauling reminds of that fact. A tiger savagely and brutally mauled a zoo janitor to death after he left the security door open.
The incident happened at Pitesti Zoo in Romania. The 52-year-old zoo janitor was just following his usual routine, not realizing he was going to become tiger chow. Sadly, the zoo worker failed to follow proper safety procedures. It's unknown if this was something that he did before and got lucky or if this was a momentary lap in judgment.
According to the Romanian newspaper Adev?rul, the incident happened on December 9. The tiger fatally bit the zoo janitor on the head. Zoo protocol saw the animal moved to a high-fenced cage during cleaning. This would have separated the tiger away from the janitor while he cleaned. Unfortunately, the worker forgot to close the door behind the animal, so it immediately returned to the enclosure and attacked him.
"Unfortunately, this deviation led to a fatal attack by the animal," a representative from the Pite?ti City Hall told Adev?rul. "Currently, an internal investigation is underway at the Zoo to establish the exact circumstances of the incident and any necessary measures to prevent such tragedies in the future."
Tiger Attack Kills Zoo Janitor
Police confirmed the janitor "did not respect [security procedures], he forgot to close the safety door, the tiger entered back in his cage and bite him from the head." Authorities are investigating the zoo for potential manslaughter following the tiger attack.
"The investigations are being continued by the police officers from the Pite?ti Criminal Investigation Bureau in order to establish all the circumstances surrounding the event," the Arges County Police said, per the outlet.
The mayor of Pite?ti also spoke out about the incident.
"It is a huge loss, and our thoughts go out to the victim's family and all his loved ones in these moments of pain," the official said. "It is our responsibility to protect the lives of everyone who works there and also to ensure the welfare of the animals."
"I have ordered the temporary suspension of activities at the Zoo in order to conduct a thorough investigation," the mayor concluded. "We will take all necessary measures to prevent other tragedies of this kind."
