COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. – A tiger at an airboat attraction in Southwest Florida attacked an employee who was not authorized to be in the animal’s enclosure.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said the incident happened at Wooten’s Airboats on Tamiami Trail East in the Everglades area.
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According to the sheriff’s office Facebook page, early information indicates the tiger was being fed by its caretaker when the 50-year-old man entered the enclosure. The tiger injured both of the man’s arms, and he was taken to an area hospital, deputies said.
The tiger’s caretaker was able to contain the animal, which was not hurt.
According to Wooten’s website, the attraction includes an animal sanctuary that features two tigers, two lions, otters, turtles, crocodiles and alligators.
This is the second time the sheriff’s office had to investigate a tiger attack in the last few months.
A man with a cleaning service entered an unauthorized area of Naples Zoo back in December and was bitten by a tiger. The man had stuck his arm through a fence into the tiger’s area.
A deputy shot the tiger after it would not release the man’s arm. The animal died and the man was seriously injured.
Information from the Associated Press was used in the report.