Today, at the Odessa Zoo, a leopard attacked a staff member of the facility. According to the regional department of the National Police, the zoo director contacted law enforcement around 10:00 AM. He reported that one of the employees went to clean the enclosure and was attacked by the leopard.
Upon arriving at the scene, the police saw another worker in the leopard's enclosure who was trying to assist the injured person and found himself trapped.
"In order to save lives, the police were forced to use their weapons to neutralize the animal. The injured man was taken to the hospital," law enforcement officials stated.
Currently, all circumstances of the incident are being investigated. Legal qualifications will be given later.
Local Telegram channels report that the leopard attacked the staff member who was allegedly feeding it. The man suffered severe injuries to his neck and head and is now in intensive care.
"The neck and soft tissues of the head were torn apart, and the scalp was removed," witnesses noted.
Updated at 15:42 According to Igor Belyakov, director of the municipal institution "Odessa Zoo," the incident occurred because the animal caretaker violated safety protocols.
"It turned out that the leopard was outside its enclosure and could have escaped the park at any moment, which posed a significant danger to others (the zoo is located in the center of Odessa - UNIAN)," the head of the institution explained.
He clarified that attempts to sedate the animal with a special injection were unsuccessful. Therefore, a decision was made to contact law enforcement.
"The animal is innocent, but there was no other way," the director emphasized.
Animal attacks on humans - latest news
Recall that in the American city of Poulsbo, Washington, a local resident was forced to leave her home due to a siege by about a hundred raccoons demanding food.
Initially, the woman only fed a few raccoons, but over time, more animals gathered around her house. They began scratching the front door, jumping on cars, and displaying aggression. As a result, her home was besieged by animals, forcing her to flee.
It was also reported that in the U.S., a 70-year-old tourist survived a cougar attack. It turned out that it attacked him while he was walking through a dense grove in Diamond Fork Canyon, Utah. During the attack, the elderly man remained calm, grabbed some rocks, and threw them at the cougar.