Teasing led to tiger attack of Australia Zoo handler, investigation finds

AUSTRALIA -- A tiger handler at Australia Zoo who was nearly mauled to death in an enclosure was found to have deliberately excited the male cat, an investigation into the incident found.

David Styles was savaged by a 120kg (~265 pounds) male cat named Charlie during a public show in the Big Cat arena at the Queensland zoo in November last year.

A Workplace Health and Safety report obtained by the Courier Mail has found Mr Styles deliberately changed his appearance to look more interesting to the tiger so he could put on a better show.

As a result he suffered a crushed carotid artery, nicked jugular, paralysis to the left larynx and nerve damage that 'could have resulted in fatality'.

 

 

'Mr Styles admitted that he overly excited Charlie on this occasion which encouraged the tiger to play rougher than usual,' the report stated.

The tiger handler added a blue blanket to his khaki work attire and placed surgical shoes over his hands to make himself look different when the tigers appeared unenthusiastic to be involved in the show.

'This stimulates the tiger to investigate and interact with a new 'entity' rather than their 'usual' handler,' according to the report.

Mr Styles' changed appearance caused the cat to rear on his hind legs and place his paws on the handler's shoulders.

While that type of behaviour is normal interaction between a handler and tiger, on the day Mr Styles was attacked he fell into the pool, which subsequently resulted in him being bit on the neck and throat.

'Styles asserts it was the action of falling into the pool which may have been the catalyst for the over-excitement of the tiger and thus the bite occurred,' the report said.

Mr Styles, who returned to work a few months after the incident, denied he was trying to get better footage for a BBC documentary when he was attacked.

Workplace investigators concluded that no further legal action was necessary.

(Daily Mail - Dec 7, 2014)