Man has jumped into Tiger enclosure

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

At Yorkshire wildlife park.Anyone seen the video? I live local to it and the video of the man wagging his finger at it telling it no like a toddler is shocking.Hes lucky he wasnt killed.

We were once evacuated from Chester Zoo because some chimps had escaped.

Evidently, one of the zoo keepers had failed to secure the door to where their food was prepared and they managed to open it and have a feast.

The way they handled it was impressive. We were near the jaguars when they announced over the PA system that could all the visitors where we were go inside the jaguar house. You couldn't get me in there fast enough as I was worried that a tiger had got loose.

We waited for about half an hour watching the jaguars, the sloth and the leafcutter ants endlessly. When we were told we could leave we were directed to the nearest gate to leave the zoo.

At the entrance they had people with crates of water bottles for the visitors as it had taken ages to leave and it was a hot day.

We got a free subsequent visit, discount in the shops and cafes and a free ride on one of the transport systems within the zoo to make up for the inconvenience.

IMO they handled the whole thing really well and it was great PR for the zoo.

"Nobody of sane mind is going to jump into a tiger enclosure". I would have agreed with you but does someone of sane mind drive the wrong way down a motorway on purpose?

I agree that we have so much disability around now because of 'care in the community' (which was a money-saving practice, not an exercise in humanitarianism)and the spin-off of the same. Humans brains evolve and change as we advance in years on the planet. We're still a very new species relatively, and disability is part of that. More people with LD/ASD/ADHD etc have had children and their children have had children, than ever before, and with that of course comes mutations and differences.

There's nothing confirming that this man was with carers. I have never been to this wildlife park. Is it possible to sneak in? Could he have tailgated? If so that would be how he was in there despite allegedly being a Makaton-speaker who had LDs?

I don't think disabled people should be locked up in padded cells or confided to Victorian-style asylums. I think we need to keep a grip on this too, it is a very rare type of occurrence, not something that's a huge risk that needs to inform drastic change. It's a tragic accident, period IMO.

Let's wait until some official reports come out before we begin speculating about blame?

I have a friend whose son with ASD almost beat her to death once a few years ago. She had been begging for help for years. If he was with carers, it is possible they lost control over him through little-to-no fault of their own.

There's no such thing as 'mental age' we stopped using that term many years ago.

An adult with a disability is still an adult & has the same rights as any other adult.

It's up to the business owner to make the attraction safe & accessible for everyone regardless of disability.

It's why we have tactile paving on pavements & crossings, you would barely notice them but they are vital to the safety of blind people.

We don't treat disabled adults like children, we make reasonable adjustments so they can be treated like adults

This model makes disabled people ripe for abuse by people who claim they can ‘consent’ to all sorts. Sorry but no

Anyone who's suicidal is said to not be of sound mind--I always found this a bit of a problematic statement!

Got flamed here last night for daring to suggest that the man who was killed by the tiger was in the wrong. But I hold by that. He climbed into the tiger's enclosure to play. With an animal weighing 170kg? That hunts and preys on smaller weaker slower creatures, and then did Makaton signing towards it? While I send my sympathies to his bereaved relatives, the man was completely
responsible for his own death.

There's no such thing as 'mental age' we stopped using that term many years ago.

It's still in common usage though. I see it on mumsnet a lot.

If you had ever been to the wildlife park which I assume you haven't, you would know the enclosure has a very high fence and certainly is not easy to get into. The drop into alone could cause serious injury.

However, if someone, for whatever reason, is determined to go into the enclosure then how exactly can it be made 100% impossible? The enclosures are to keep animals in not keep humans out.

As I said in a previous post should we ban trains because people get killed by them? Put huge fences round mountains because someone might try to climb it and fall and injure or kill themselves? Just ridiculous to think we can totally protect everyone if they do something dangerous.

I would think the man was pretty badly hurt pretty quickly by a powerful tiger so I very very much doubt that even if a keeper had just happened to be standing close by with a gun it would have been quick enough to save the man's life. The staff got the tiger to retreat to his sleeping quarters as quickly as they could in the hope the man could be saved but sadly he could not.

No way on earth should that tiger be killed for doing what is natural to him. If he had not retreated and continued to hurt the man then I guess they would have had no choice but to shoot him but thankfully that did not happen.

Humans kill far more animals than necessary, no need to add this tiger to the list

Sorry to derail but I smiled at the idea of the chimps just having a bloody great day while carnage ensued around them 😂

our local zoos are Knowsley Safari park and Chester zoo. They've developed treatments and vaccines for lots of diseases that will save lives, in the wild. Their conservation work has made a difference. You won't agree but your word, isn't law.

@Ponoka7 At what cost to other animals? And why do animals in the wild need to be treated for and vaccinated against lots of diseases in the first place?

There's quite a lot of wild speculation. The identity has not been confirmed. He may have ASD/LD/mental illness but we really don't know.

Many people use body language to communicate with animals & alot of makaton is the same body language as we would naturally use for no, don't do that etc.

There's clearly something seriously abnormal with his behaviour but there is no evidence he had learning disabilities or used Makaton. He could have been drunk or on drugs. We just don't know.

If a disabled adult has the same rights as any other adult why don’t they also have the same responsibilities as any other adult? The ‘crocodile thrower’ appears not to be held accountable for his violent attack on a child according to information currently available in the public domain.

There's actually no evidence yet to suggest he had learning difficulties, and he by all accounts was on his own on a day out. It's highly likely he did have LD's but nothing has actually been confirmed yet.

He's not been deemed fit enough even to be interviewed, which is a high bar.
I'm hoping to see his 'carers' (if you can call them that) will be being charged with gross negligence soon.

People have come to this conclusion because apparently he was making the makaton sign language sign for “bad” at the tiger. In the footage circulating it initially looked like he was shaking his finger at it but it’s now been said he was raising his little finger and using his other hand to communicate via sign language. He did however speak to members of the public just beforehand, asking a woman to take a photo of him and he thanked her afterwards (and then climbed into the enclosure). It can be quite common for people with sen to use a combination of sign / picture language and spoken language.

A train is not a tourist attraction

The park is providing a leisure attraction (I know there is conservation work too but the visitors were paying for entertainment/leisure)

Almost certainly one of the changes that will happen as a result is that the areas where visitors are allowed are fully enclosed.

Unfortunately it takes a death & a regulation 28 (prevention of future deaths) report to bring about changes.

A lot of the safety regulations we take for granted came from PFD recommendations (paracetamol labelling, soft surfaces on kids play areas, appliances coming with ready wired plugs etc)

You got flamed last night for using an awful term in relation to this young man and all your posts were deleted as I'm sure you know.

But sharing the film makes it global and irretractable from the Internet. I think things like this shows the utter depravity that the human race can decend too.

Stop being cowardly. If you want to say something just say it.

What if he wasn’t capable though? You are implying he went in for a laugh. Common sense dictates that no sane person would do that. He may be responsible and he has paid the ultimate price but let’s pretend he is some sort of villain.

There is a already a massive fence.

We do have the same responsibilities.

There may be differences in capacity to understand consequences & that's taken into consideration when charging decisions & sentencing decisions are made but yes disabled people are adults in the eyes of the law

If it turns out this man does have either a mental illness or some sort of learning disability (or both) your post makes you look incredibly ignorant.