The zoo has a pair of Amur tigers.
Keystone / Patrick B. Kraemer
A 55-year old zoo keeper has been killed by a tiger at Zoo Zurich.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/ac
The incident took place before 1.20 pm on Saturday, a member of the Zurich city police’s operations centre told the news agency Keystone-SDA. The keeper was attacked by an Amur tigress called Irina. The animal was eventually lured away by a group of keepers to a holding pen. Despite rapid medical assistance, the 55-year-old woman died.
According to Swiss media reports, several police officers were present at the zoo. The area around the tiger enclosure was cordoned off. The zoo hosts two adult Amur tigers: a five-year-old female called Irina and a four-and-a-half-year-old male called Sayan. Zoo Zurich has been open since June 6 after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
It is not exactly clear how the tragedy occurred and why the animal keeper was in the enclosure at the same time as the tiger. The incident is now being investigated by the Zurich public prosecutor’s office, the Zurich city police, the Zurich Forensic Institute and the Institute for Forensic Medicine.
A counselling team was set up for the visitors and zoo employees who witnessed the incident.
This is not the first animal attack reported in Zoo Zurich. In December 2019, a male Philippine crocodile grabbed a zookeeper’s arm during a routine enclosure cleaning operation. The keeper was injured and had to go undergo surgery while the reptile was shot.
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
How is your country dealing with the return of stolen artifacts?
Western nations like Switzerland often have to deal with the process of recovering or returning looted artifacts which have been illegally imported. What’s the situation like in your country?
Norwegian zombie film wins main prize at Swiss festival NIFFF
This content was published on
More than 55,000 people celebrated the fantastic film at the International Fantastic Film Festival in Neuchâtel (NIFFF) - fewer than last year.
Europe offers last line of defence for the Asiatic lion
This content was published on
The endangered Asiatic lion is threatened by a contagious virus in India. In a worst-case scenario can captive animals in Europe help?
This content was published on
Markus Schietsch clearly remembers his first encounter with a wild bull elephant. He was in the back of an open pickup truck when the elephant repeatedly mock charged the vehicle in the Kaeng Krachan national park in Thailand. The adrenalin-packed experience was courtesy of a study trip organised by the Zurich zoo, as the Zurich…
This content was published on
Basel and Zurich zoos recently launched major new development projects. Although they claim to be more animal-friendly ...
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.