Overview
A man died after being attacked by a Siberian tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in northern England on Saturday, October 10, 2026, prompting an emergency evacuation and a police investigation into how he entered the animal’s enclosure.
South Yorkshire Police said officers received reports at 1:35 p.m. local time that a man had entered the tiger enclosure at the wildlife attraction near Doncaster.
- A man died on October 10, 2026, after entering a Siberian tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster, England. Emergency services attended, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
- The park confirmed on October 11 that Altai, the tiger involved in the fatal attack, was unharmed and would not be euthanised. Authorities said the animal remained inside its enclosure and posed no wider threat to the public.
- Yorkshire Wildlife Park was evacuated and remained closed throughout the weekend as police investigated the incident. Staff affected by the attack are receiving specialist support.
Emergency medical personnel attended the scene, including two ambulances, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and a doctor. Despite attempts to save him, the man was pronounced dead at the park.
His identity has not been publicly released. Police confirmed that his family had been informed and was receiving support from specialist officers.
The circumstances surrounding the man’s entry into the enclosure remain under investigation.
Video footage circulating on social media appeared to show a man wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt and light-coloured trousers near a tiger. The animal was seen grabbing and biting him around his back, lunging repeatedly and striking him with its front paws.
South Yorkshire Police acknowledged the existence of several recordings of the incident and urged members of the public not to distribute the distressing footage.
Following the attack, the tiger remained within its enclosure and was not injured. Police said there was no wider danger to visitors or the surrounding community.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park activates emergency procedures
Yorkshire Wildlife Park confirmed that its emergency response protocols were activated immediately after the incident.
The attraction was evacuated on Saturday and closed for the remainder of the weekend, including Sunday, October 11.
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, which opened in 2009, describes itself as the UK’s leading walk-through wildlife adventure. Its attractions include lions, cheetahs, leopards and endangered Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers.
The Land of the Tigers exhibit, opened in 2011, occupies a purpose-built two-acre reserve. Visitors can observe the animals from a raised walkway approximately 300 metres long, overlooking areas where the tigers roam.
The park has not established publicly how the man entered the restricted area or what prompted him to approach the animal.
Tiger named Altai will not be euthanised after fatal attack
In a statement issued on Sunday, October 11, Yorkshire Wildlife Park confirmed that the tiger involved in the attack, named Altai, was safe and would not be euthanised.
Many, many people have contacted us about Altai, the tiger. We can reassure everyone that he is safe and well and will not be euthanised as a result of this incident.
The announcement followed concerns about the animal’s condition and whether it might be destroyed after the fatal encounter.
Altai is an Amur tiger, a threatened big-cat subspecies native to parts of the Russian Far East and northeastern Asia. The animal remained inside its enclosure throughout the incident, according to police.
The park also offered condolences to the man’s family and confirmed that employees affected by the attack were receiving specialist assistance.
Previous serious incidents involving wildlife enclosures
The fatal attack follows other incidents in which people entering dangerous animal enclosures have suffered serious or fatal injuries.
- In June 2026, a boy was critically injured after being forced into a crocodile enclosure near Cambridge, England.
- In September 2025, a tiger handler was fatally attacked by a tiger in Oklahoma, United States.
Another serious incident occurred in December 2021 at Naples Zoo in Florida, when a man employed by a cleaning contractor entered a restricted area and reached into a tiger enclosure. The animal bit his arm, causing severe injuries.
The circumstances of those incidents differ, but each involved direct contact between people and dangerous captive animals.
At Yorkshire Wildlife Park, investigators are continuing to establish the sequence of events leading to Saturday’s fatal encounter.
As of October 11, police have not publicly identified the man or confirmed why he entered the enclosure. The park remains closed for the weekend, while Altai is unharmed and will remain alive following the incident.
