Beekse Bergen Zookeeper Dies After Leopard Attack in Enclosure

A long tenured employee at Beekse Bergen safari park in the southern Netherlands died on Tuesday from injuries sustained in a leopard attack on Saturday. The park confirmed the death in a statement, noting that the woman had been with the facility for almost four decades.

The incident occurred around 11 a.m. local time on Saturday, October 24. The zookeeper was working alone in an enclosure with two male Persian leopards. She contacted colleagues via walkie talkie after the attack, prompting the dispatch of an ambulance and a trauma helicopter.

Reports from the Associated Press indicate the woman suffered serious wounds to her head and neck. She underwent emergency surgery following the rescue, but her condition deteriorated on Sunday evening. She passed away on Tuesday.

NOS, a CNN affiliate, reported that the employee had been working specifically with these leopards for eight years. The park told NOS that no cameras are installed inside the enclosure. The animals have been treated as normal since the incident, according to the park.

The park stated that an independent investigation into the death has been launched. Beekse Bergen is home to more than 100 species and allows visitors to tour the grounds by foot, car, bus, or boat. The employee joined the park at age 17 and worked there with short breaks for nearly 40 years.

This fatality follows a pattern of staff deaths in similar facilities. In 2023, a zookeeper was killed by a rhino at Salzburg Hellbrunn Zoo in Austria, while another worker was injured in the same incident. In 2021, a woman working at a Chilean safari park was killed by a tiger in a big cat enclosure.

The park expressed profound grief in its statement, asking for privacy for the staff and the family. It noted that the loss deeply affects all employees. The investigation will determine the specific circumstances surrounding the interaction between the keeper and the two leopards.