A tiger attacked its handler at an amusement park in Australia’s Gold Coast. The attack left the worker hospitalised with severe arm injuries that included deep lacerations and puncture wounds, according to a report by US broadcaster CNN.
The handler, aged 47, was working with one of the Dreamworld’s nine tigers when she was attacked. The Queensland Ambulance Service said the attack occurred on Monday morning 9am (local time).
Alert park staff restrained the big cat before paramedics arrived at the scene.
“The patient obviously had received some serious lacerations and puncture wounds from the animal,” Queensland Ambulance Service acting district director Justin Payne told Australian media outlets.
“Thankfully on their arrival the bleeding had been managed very well by first aid providers there at Dreamworld, which was excellent to see,” Payne added.
He said the handler “was quite pale and feeling unwell” but pointed out that she remains in a stable condition at Gold Coast University Hospital.
Dreamworld, the amusement park, issued a statement highlighting that the attack was an “isolated and rare incident” and the “immediate focus is on the support of the team member”.
It also kept its park open to the public on Monday.
Dreamworld says its Tiger Island exhibit offers an “interactive” experience allowing visitors to get close enough to “feel the breath of a tiger.” The park’s website promotes opportunities for visitors to feed its Bengal and Sumatran tigers.
Monday’s incident isn’t the first time a tiger has injured staff at Dreamworld. In 2011, a 160-kilogram Bengal tiger named Keto bit two handlers in separate incidents, according to local media reports.
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