Condition of Topeka Zookeeper Attacked by Tiger Improving

Condition of Topeka Zookeeper Attacked by Tiger Improving
A Sumatran Tiger in a file photo. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

TOPEKA, Kan.—The director of the Topeka Zoo says a zookeeper who was attacked by a Sumatran tiger remains in intensive care but her prognosis for recovery is good.

The zookeeper was attacked on April 20 while in the outdoor tiger habitat of Sanjiv, a 7-year-old male tiger.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports zoo director Brendan Wiley said the zookeeper was talking Saturday night. Wiley said she remained in intensive care Sunday but could be transferred out of the unit soon.

The woman has worked at the zoo since 2002 and has several years of experience with tigers.

Wiley said the zoo is conducting an investigation and will determine what protocol changes might be needed after talking to the injured employee.

The zoo has no plans to euthanize Sanjiv, who was back on display Sunday.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the incident happened around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, when a Sumatran tiger named Sanjiv attacked the worker in a secured, indoor space.

Topeka Zoo director Brendan Wiley says the zookeeper was awake and alert when she was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Wiley said he did not know the extent of her injuries. The zookeeper’s name has not been released.

City spokeswoman Molly Hadfield says the zoo was open at the time of the attack and was witnessed by some people.

The zoo reopened about 45 minutes after the attack.

Sanjiv came to the Topeka Zoo in August 2017 from a zoo in Akron, Ohio.

Mother Recounts How She Fought Mountain Lion That Mauled Her 7-Year-Old Son

A Canadian mother leaped into action when a mountain lion latched onto her 7-year-old son in their backyard. She said divine intervention was what finally ended the attack.

Zack Bromley was playing out the back of their rural Vancouver Island home on March 29 when a juvenile cougar broke through their wire fence, pounced on the boy and began mauling his arm.

His mother, Chelsea Lockhart, was upstairs at the time. She heard a racket coming from the yard—the mesh fence rattling and the sound of her son’s voice. Rushing outside, she found her son fighting for his life.

“I ran down the stairs and ran to his voice and turned the corner, and I see this animal on my child,” Lockhart told CTV.

Lockhart said the male lion was trying to drag her son away. She said her motherly instincts kicked in: she launched herself onto it, and tried to open its jaws with her bare hands to free her child.

"He was on the ground and the cougar was over him and it was attached to his arm. I had a mom instinct, right? I just leaped on it and tried to pry its mouth open."

Posted by CTV Vancouver on Tuesday, April 2, 2019

“He was on the ground and the cougar was over him and it was attached to his arm,” she said. “I had a mom instinct, right? I just leaped on it and tried to pry its mouth open.”

She said she realized in that moment she could be fighting for her son’s life; the animal’s strength was too much for her. She said it was then that she decided to ask for help from a higher power.

“I knew that in my own power and my own strength, I wasn’t going to be able to pry its mouth open. So I start praying,” Lockhart told the news station.

“I’m just crying out to the Lord, just this really deep from the depths of inside of me,” she said. “Three sentences into me praying, it released and it ran away.”

NTD Photo
A mountain lion. (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Zack suffered injuries to his head, neck, and arm but is expected to make a full recovery. The loose hoodie he was wearing at the time helped prevent further injuries. He now has stitches on his arm and behind his ear on his head, reported Global News. He is currently recuperating at his grandparent’s home.

Epoch Times reporter Janita Kan contributed to this report 

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