NAPLES, Fla. — It has been weeks since a 26-year-old man was attacked by a tiger at the Naples Zoo, but there's now more information on what exactly happened that night.
In a recently released report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), answers to how the event unfolded came to light.
According to FWC, River Rosenquist had to have jumped over the structural safety barrier to get near Eko the tiger's enclosure. The 8-year-old feline could have only made contact with the man if he voluntarily put his hand through the fence.
The tiger bit and pulled Rosenquist's arm through the fence, which was captured on body camera video. Footage shows the man's arm bloodied from the tiger's bite, with the animal continuing to hold it in place.
The sheriff's office said they had no other option but to shoot Eko to get him to release Rosenquist's arm and save his life. The animal later died from the gunshot wound.
Lee Ann Rottman, director of Animal Programs at Naples Zoo, explained Rosenquist was "outside the scope of his duties and...was not authorized to breach the posted structural safety barrier," according to the zoo's written agreement with HMI Commercial Cleaning - the company Rosenquist was working for that night.
Following the incident, Rosenquist was deemed to be a trauma alert and was flown to Lee Memorial Hospital for treatment, FWC explains. He was moved from the ER into a surgical room because of his nearly-amputated arm.
During intake at the hospital, a nurse said she noted an odor of alcohol coming from Rosenquist, the report explains. There has been no other information regarding the possibility of alcohol consumption as of now.
It was said by FWC leaders that the man's arm was set to be amputated because of the severity of the damage. But, luckily for Rosenquist, the surgeon later gave him hopes of keeping his hand.
The man reportedly refused to talk to the FWC staff and gave them the name and phone number of his defense attorney instead
Back in December, Naples Zoo President Jack Mulvena said the state was pursuing the possibility of pressing charges against Rosenquist, but no other information on that has been released yet.
According to the IUCN Red List, there are fewer than 120 adult Malayan tigers living in the wild and are listed as critically endangered. The animal is considered the national symbol of Malaysia.