Tigers are indeed fascinating creatures, but they sometimes remind us all that humans will never be able to tame them fully. The largest cats in the world are once again representing the subject of sad news, as a zookeeper has been killed by endangered Sumatran tigers, according to BBC.
The tragic event occurred in the Sinka Zoo of Borneo island from Southeast Asia’s Malay Archipelago. Two young female tigers were responsible for the zookeeper’s death, and they were both aged about 18 months. In general, tigers live from 20 to 26 years.
Passed away at 47 years old
The zookeeper was found dead last Friday, and the AFP news agency reports that he had bite wounds and scratches on his body. One of the tigers was captured after it was immobilized with a tranquilizer dart. As for the other animal, he was shot dead after behaving aggressively and couldn’t be tranquilized.
The two tigers were able to escape because of torrential rain causing a landslide, and therefore their enclosure has been damaged.
Sadtata Noor Adirahmanta, who is the head of a local conservation agency, declared for AFP as cited by BBC:
We tried with a tranquilliser gun first but it didn’t work, so we were forced to shoot the tiger because it was already behaving very aggressively,
We were afraid it would escape to the nearest neighbourhood,
He added:
Although we tried our best to catch it alive, our priority is humans’ safety.
As a large-scale hunt began in the town of Singkawang, the authorities imposed many people to stay at home. Even drones were used to locate the tigers, as a dense forrest surrounded the zoo.
As the Bengal tiger is the most common tiger breed, the Sumatran tigers are in the other extreme: there are thought to be less than 400 specimens in the wild.
