Zookeeper dies days after she was mauled inside leopard enclosure in Dutch wildlife park

A keeper in her fifties has died after being mauled by a leopard at Safaripark Beekse Bergen in the Netherlands. The fatal attack has prompted an independent investigation into how the usual separation between staff and predators failed.

She was caring for two male Persian leopards indoors on Saturday because of bad weather when colleagues heard her call for help over her radio. She suffered severe head and neck injuries, underwent emergency surgery and died on Tuesday. The park said it would not put down the leopard; it is unclear which animal was involved, and there were no cameras inside the enclosure.