Gates left open before zookeeper mauled to death, inquest hears

A zookeeper in the UK was mauled to death by a tiger after two gates and a vertical metal slide were left open, an inquest has heard.

Rosa King’s body was seen lying injured inside the tiger enclosure at Cambridgeshire’s Hamerton Zoo by a member of the public, who raised the alarm, the BBC reports.

The 33-year-old zookeeper suffered major injuries including a severed spinal cord and lacerations to her neck and arms during the attack on May 29, 2017.

Police, paramedics and an air ambulance all responded to the emergency but Ms King died at the scene.

She was inside the enclosure cleaning its windows when she was set upon.

Immediately after the accident, it was noted that the gates and vertical metal slide designed to separate the tigers from staff in the paddock were open.

"We're going to need to explore how that happened and what the reason for that was," assistant coroner for Cambridgeshire, Nicholas Moss said.

A police investigation "suggested there was not any mechanical fault with the gates and slides", Mr Moss said.

Ms King’s mother, Andrea King, told the inquest that her daughter had always been passionate about animals, even as a toddler.

The mother said Ms King was "knowledgeable about all the animals in her care" and had not expressed any concerns about her working conditions at the zoo.

Ms King had worked at the zoo for 13 years, and from 2014-2016 helped design the new tiger enclosure.

The Malayan tiger who mauled Ms King, known as Cicip, was not euthanised. Ms King’s family supported the zoo in its decision to keep the animal alive.

The inquest continues.