Tiger Attacks and Tries to Maul Trainer: Panic at Amusement Park

Scary moments in an amusement park in Australia, when a tiger attacked its trainer and tried to tear her to pieces. Fortunately, the episode did not have tragic consequences, but the woman was hospitalized with “serious wounds and lacerations to her arm”.

The 47-year-old trainer, who has not been named, was working with one of nine tigers at Dreamworld theme park in Coomera on the Gold Coast when she was attacked shortly before 9am local time on Monday, according to the Queensland Ambulance Service. Park staff managed to subdue the animal before paramedics arrived.

“The patient obviously reported severe lacerations and stab wounds from the animal,” Queensland Ambulance Service acting district manager Justin Payne told reporters. “Fortunately, the blood loss had been managed very well by the first responders at Dreamworld when we arrived,” Payne said. The first responder “was quite pale and not feeling well,” but is now in a stable condition at Gold Coast University Hospital, he added.

In a statement, Dreamworld said that Monday’s attack was an “isolated and rare incident” and that “the company’s immediate attention is to supporting the team member.” The company declined to answer further questions about the tiger’s welfare, while the park remained open to the public.

The attraction, known as Tiger Island, is advertised as a“interactive” experience where visitors “can get so close you can hear a tiger breathing”The park’s website advertises the opportunity for visitors to feed some of the park’s nine Bengal and Sumatran tigers.

Monday’s attack was not the first inside Dreamworld. In 2011, a 350-pound Bengal tiger named Keto bit two trainers in separate incidents, local media reported at the time.