Dutch zookeeper dies four days after leopard attack

A zookeeper at Beekse Bergen in the southern Netherlands died on Tuesday from injuries sustained in a leopard attack four days earlier. The employee, who had served at the park for almost four decades, was working alone in an enclosure with two male Persian leopards when the incident occurred on Saturday.

The woman contacted colleagues via a walkie-talkie after the attack. An ambulance and a trauma helicopter were dispatched at approximately 11 a.m. local time on Saturday. She underwent emergency surgery, but her condition deteriorated on Sunday evening.

Beekse Bergen released a statement on Tuesday confirming the death. “With enormous sadness, we have to report that the animal caretaker of safari park Beekse Bergen passed away today from the injuries she sustained on Saturday, October 24, in an incident with a leopard in the park,” the statement read. The park added that it was “intensely grieving” with the family and asked for privacy for staff and loved ones.

The Associated Press reported that the woman suffered serious wounds to her head and neck. CNN affiliate NOS reported that she had been working with the leopards for eight years. The park told NOS that there are no cameras inside the enclosure and that the two male leopards have been treated as normal since the incident.

The employee joined the park at age 17. The statement noted she worked there “with short breaks for almost 40 years.” Beekse Bergen is home to more than 100 species and allows visitors to view the animals by foot, car, bus, and boat.

The park stated that an independent investigation has been launched into the death. This incident follows other fatal attacks on staff in the industry. In 2023, a zookeeper was killed by a rhino at Salzburg Hellbrunn Zoo in Austria, injuring a second keeper. In 2021, a woman was killed by a tiger at a safari park in Chile while working in a big cat enclosure.