Tiger that killed Rosa King at Hamerton Zoo Park could have wandered free and mauled families, says coroner
A tiger that mauled to death a keeper at a Cambridgeshire zoo could also have killed visiting children and adults, according to a recent coroner’s report.
It was by luck and chance that the tiger, Cicip, didn’t venture into Hamerton Park Zoo where families were enjoying a day out.
Rosa King, 33, the senior carnivore keeper at Hamerton, near Sawtry, was killed by the Malayan tiger in May 2017.
She had entered the Cicip’s enclosure while the gates to the tiger den were still open as was attacked and killed between 9.38 am and 10.45 am. The keepers’ gate into the enclosure Rosa had used was still open when she died.
Her body was not discovered for some time and was eventually noticed by a zoo guest at around 11 am.
Potentially the keepers’ gate was open for up to an hour and 20 minutes and in that period there was nothing to stop the tiger from attacking families visiting the zoo and Cambridgeshire assistant coroner Nicholas Moss said that children who had congregated by the open wooden gate to look into the enclosure, could have been ‘easily killed’.
Mr Moss, in his recently released Prevention of Future Deaths report, said it was “largely by chance that the risk of multiple casualities to the public did not materialise”.
“There was a very serious risk of casualties and fatalities to the visiting public,” he wrote. “The metal gate and wooden gate were both open. For a period of not less than 15 minutes and possible as long as one hour and 20 minutes, Cicip could simply have walked out of the tiger enclosure into the public areas, where families with children had already been admitted.
“In fact, Cicip remained in the paddock and it was thus largely by chance and by the later action of a zoo visitor and members of staff, that the risk of multiple casualties/fatalities to the public did not materialise.”
Had the tiger escaped there would not have been anything the zoo could have done to stop it.
It is a legal requirement that zoos with potentially dangerous animals have firearms to kill them if they escape. Hamerton Zoo Park did not have any firearms, or any staff trained to use them.
A dart gun was the only weapon available to staff but it would have taken 15 minutes for any drug to take hold, leaving the animal free to continue attacking people.
The report added that due to a historical arrangement with the police, the only course of action would have been to call for specifically trained firearms officers but their response, given the rural location of the zoo, may not have been quick enough to prevent further deaths.
Two members of staff have now received firearms training but the report says the zoo has yet to sort out its firearms licence on site some two years after Rosa's death.
The coroner also added that a significant number of witnesses stated that Rosa was her normal cheerful self on the morning of her death but there was some evidence that she was tired.
While it was possible, it could not be said on the evidence to be probable, that worked-induced tiredness was a contributory factor.
Read more
Hamerton Zoo to reopen after tiger killed keeper Rosa King
Hamerton Zoo keeper Rosa King ‘was cleaning windows inside enclosure before she was killed by tiger’
