Dutch keeper in her fifties in coma after leopard attack at safari park

A zookeeper in her fifties is in a coma after being mauled by a Persian leopard at Safaripark Beekse Bergen in the Netherlands. The attack matters because it has renewed attention on the risks of working with dangerous animals and the safety procedures that separate staff from animals.

The woman, who had worked at the park since she was 17, entered an enclosure where two male leopards were being kept indoors during Storm Austen. Colleagues heard her call for help; she was airlifted to hospital with severe head and neck injuries and underwent surgery, which the park said was successful, though her condition remains worrying. The park has not identified which leopard was involved and says it will not put the animal to sleep, describing a failure in the separation between people and animals.