Importance Score: 65 / 100 🔴
A zookeeper tragically died after being mauled by a rare female white Bengal tiger. The incident occurred after he inadvertently entered the animal’s enclosure during feeding time at the Mariupol Zoo in Russian-occupied Ukraine. The Bengal tiger attack resulted in immediate fatality.
Alexey Melnikov was fatally wounded at the Mariupol Zoo in Russian-occupied Ukraine. The tigress, known as Lucy, reportedly ‘attacked him and gnawed at his head.’
Another zoo employee, Galina Zamarakhina, witnessed the horrific ordeal and narrowly avoided being attacked herself.
Galina stated that Alexey believed he had relocated the tigress to a different enclosure before entering.
However, it seems he had not moved the big cat. He was surprised to discover Lucy inside a wooden den upon entering the enclosure.
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‘I heard a scream,’ Galina recounted.
‘I somehow managed to close the cage in time, because she [the tigress] was looking at me.
‘I don’t know how I managed to shut it’, she added.
Zookeeper Alexey Melnikov died after a Bengal tigress attack at a zoo in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
Lucy, the tigress, is said to have attacked Alexey’s head after he mistakenly entered her enclosure during feeding time.
The deadly incident took place at Mariupol Zoo.
Zoo Director Savely Vashura suggested that the tigress was likely ‘defending’ her four cubs.
‘She came out from behind, and bam – the man was gone.’
‘Maybe he got distracted, maybe something else happened – he was only human.’
He stated, ‘Why it happened, I don’t know….
‘He knew the animals, he loved them.’
Traces of blood were observed in the cage, along with the keeper’s bloodstained clothing.
The Russian Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal inquiry into the man’s death following the Bengal tiger attack.
A representative stated: ‘A white tiger attacked an employee of the Mariupol Zoo.
The zoo suggests the tigress was defending her cubs at the time of the violent attack.
Fellow zookeeper Galina Zamarakhina narrowly escaped the animal.
‘According to preliminary data, the animal attacked the employee when he entered the enclosure to feed it.
‘The man died from the injuries he received.’
Alexey had previously appeared on Russian television, mentioning his move to Mariupol from Crimea to work with animals.
‘I love animals very much – I can’t live without them’, he said.
‘I clean, feed the predators. Mostly I work with predators.
‘I move them [from one cage to another], keeping things in order.’
The unfortunate event follows a similar incident several months prior, where a zoo employee in Romania died after entering a tiger’s cage and neglecting safety procedures.
Reports indicate that the 52-year-old zookeeper was attacked on the head by the animal at Pitesti Zoo on December 9 of the previous year.
The Bengal tiger attack occurred while the caretaker was delivering food, allegedly bypassing health and safety regulations that mandate complete separation between tigers and access areas.
The animal was then able to pounce on the man, causing serious harm over several minutes.
Emergency services responded rapidly, and the individual was taken to a hospital. Sadly, medical interventions were unsuccessful.