NAPLES, Fla. — A man who law enforcement says stuck his hand into a tiger enclosure at the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens pleaded for help as deputies chose to shoot the animal to release him, body camera shows.
10 Tampa Bay is not publishing the full video of the Dec. 29 encounter because of its extremely graphic nature.
The sheriff's office says 26-year-old River Rosenquist was working at the zoo late Wednesday while employed as a member of a third-party cleaning service. According to earlier zoo and law enforcement statements, Rosenquist entered an unauthorized area and put his hand through the enclosure fence that held an endangered 8-year-old Malayan tiger named Eko.
The tiger pulled Rosenquist's arm through the fence, which was captured on body camera video.
"Help me, please!" Rosenquist screamed. "Oh my God," the deputy was heard saying, "was that real?"
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.
"Our deputy did everything he could do in that situation and he ultimately made the only possible decision he could in order to save this man’s life,” said Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk in a statement. "This was a tragic encounter at our world-class zoo facility. We value our community partnership with the Naples Zoo and their focus on conservation and education."
The tiger retreated to the back of its enclosure after being hit by a single shot, the sheriff's office said. A drone then was flown into the enclosure to determine the extent of the animal's injuries, and it was found to be unresponsive.
Deputies say a zoo veterinarian then was able to tranquilize the tiger and enter the enclosure to determine its injury and found that it had died.
Criminal charges are possible against Rosenquist, the sheriff's office says.