A man in his 20s died after climbing into the Amur tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster in Northern England on Saturday afternoon, October 10, 2026.
Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene after being attacked by the tiger.
Emergency services were contacted shortly after 1.30pm on Saturday when the man entered the enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near Doncaster, and was set upon by the tiger.
Videos circulating online appear to show a man being pawed at and grappled by a tiger in an enclosure.
A police spokesperson said the tiger attacked the man and inflicted “serious injury”.
“Emergency services attended and sadly, despite the best efforts of medical personnel, the man was pronounced dead at the scene,” they added.
“Regarding rumours surrounding the condition of the tiger, the animal was uninjured and remained in the enclosure following the incident and there is no wider risk to the public.”
The force urged people not to share “distressing” video footage of the attack, circulating on social media.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park said a “serious incident” occurred inside the enclosure.
It said in a statement: “Our emergency response procedures were immediately activated, and emergency services are currently attending the scene.
“We are working closely with the authorities to ascertain exactly what happened.” It added that the “safety and wellbeing of visitors, staff and animals remain our highest priority”.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park opened in 2009, with the Land of the Tigers attraction opening in 2011.
The attraction is on a purpose-built two-acre reserve for Amur tigers, an endangered subspecies with about 500 left in the wild.
Photos of the enclosure on the park’s website shows a high walkway for visitors and fencing above the section where the tigers can roam.
A Yorkshire ambulance service spokesperson said it sent a number of resources to the scene including two ambulances, Yorkshire air ambulance and a doctor.
Man fatally attacked by tiger at UK wildlife park told animal to 'stop being naughty'
The victim of the tiger attack at Yorkshire Wildlife Park told the animal to "stop being naughty" just before the incident, Sky News understands.
According to eyewitnesses, the people around the enclosure were frantically telling the young man to "play dead" but he did not understand, and was telling the tiger to "stop being naughty".
One witness said the victim had been "by himself, dancing, with headphones in" moments earlier.
Anthony Hunt had been at the wildlife park with his girlfriend Scarlet, on a date. They had been taking pictures of the animal, called Altai, when they saw its composure change and its head turn.
"We noticed the tiger's behaviour change. Its eyes locked on to something in the enclosure. We thought maybe he's getting fed. When Scarlett was taking photos - we suddenly saw in the camera lens that a guy had entered the enclosure", said Anthony.
The victim "bowed down, on all fours, started praying, and looking up at the sky", he said.
"The tiger was still on the landing at this point" but then "leapt off the landing, and sniffed the guy".
Anthony describes the victim as being almost "in a trance" and "not attached to reality".
Later, the couple spoke to a woman who said she'd "tried to stop him" from entering the enclosure, claiming she'd "tried to pull him back" but was unable to stop him.
"She was shaken up", said Anthony, who claims the woman was there with her two children.
Another witness, Alex Underwood, who had been visiting the wildlife park with his girlfriend, said the victim had asked his partner to take a picture of him shortly before he climbed into the enclosure.
"We were on the tiger bridge and I spotted him - he was dancing with his earphones on," Alex said.
"He said 'can you take a photo of me please?'. She [my girlfriend] said 'yes'. Then he said 'another one, another one'. He didn't look into the camera.
"He looked at us both and said thank you."
Alex, who said he left the bridge with his girlfriend soon after, added: "We heard someone had jumped in and thought of him for some reason."
