On Saturday 10 October South Yorkshire Police received reports at 1.35pm of a man entering the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near Doncaster. The force said the tiger attacked him and that, despite the efforts of medical staff, he was pronounced dead at the scene. His family has been told and has specialist officers supporting them. He has not been named. The park spoke of a 'serious incident', evacuated visitors and said it would be shut on Saturday and Sunday. Videos posted online appeared to show a man inside the enclosure, and police asked people not to share them. The Mirror alone reported that he asked a couple to photograph him before he went in and that zookeepers ended the attack; police have not confirmed either. Early reports of shots and a tarpaulin over the enclosure were followed by police saying the tiger was not injured.
Deaths involving big cats at British zoos are rare, so the case will draw scrutiny of how visitors are kept apart from dangerous animals. The park's licence, its barriers and its emergency response are all likely to be examined, as is the question of how the man got in.
If you plan to visit a zoo or wildlife park, expect the same safety standards as before: licensed sites are inspected by their local council. Anyone who saw the footage and is distressed can contact their GP or the NHS 111 service, and police ask that the video is not passed on.
Zoos say their barriers and staffing meet strict standards, and that a deliberate entry into a restricted area is very hard to prevent entirely.
Safety campaigners will ask whether one person could reach the animal at all, and whether visitor numbers and staffing on a busy Saturday were adequate.
Do not draw conclusions about the man or the park yet. Watch for the police account of how he entered, whether the Health and Safety Executive opens its own inquiry, when the park reopens, and what the council says about its licence.
BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, Evening Standard, ABC News, CNN, Mirror, South Yorkshire Police statement as reported (10–11 Oct 2026)
Man dies after entering the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Police say the tiger was unhurt and there is no wider risk to the public
The park near Doncaster was evacuated on Saturday afternoon and stays shut today. Police have asked people not to share the footage that circulated online.
A man died on Saturday after entering the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near Doncaster, according to the BBC, the Guardian, Reuters, the Evening Standard and ABC News. South Yorkshire Police said officers were called at 1.35pm to reports of a man entering the enclosure. The tiger then attacked him, the force said, and he was pronounced dead at the scene despite the efforts of medical staff. His family has been told and is being supported by specialist officers. He has not been named. The park said it was dealing with a 'serious incident' and that its emergency procedures were 'immediately activated'. Visitors were evacuated, and the attraction will stay closed on Sunday as well as Saturday.
The Guardian and the Evening Standard said videos posted online appeared to show a man standing inside the enclosure before the attack, and police urged people not to share distressing footage. The Mirror, the only outlet to report it so far, said the man asked a couple to take a photograph of him before he went in, and credited zookeepers with ending the attack. Police have not confirmed either detail. Early reports from the Mirror, the York Press and The Star spoke of 'shots fired' and a tarpaulin over the enclosure. Police have since said the tiger was not injured and that there is no wider risk to the public. Tigers are an endangered species, and British zoos keep them partly as part of international breeding programmes, so the animal's welfare after the incident will also be a question for the park and its vets.
The investigation will now try to establish how he reached the animal. Big-cat enclosures normally combine a perimeter fence with a second barrier and keeper-only access, so investigators are likely to examine every barrier, whether any was breached or climbed, and whether the man was alone. Zoos in Great Britain are licensed by their local council under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 and must meet standards on barriers and staff training. A sudden death at a visitor attraction is normally looked into by the police and the Health and Safety Executive, the workplace safety regulator, and referred to a coroner, who opens an inquest. Fatal tiger attacks in Britain are rare. In 2013 a keeper was killed by a tiger at Hamerton Zoo Park in Cambridgeshire, but she was working inside a restricted area, not visiting as a member of the public. No date has been given for the reopening of the Yorkshire park.