Bodycam of tiger attack at Naples Zoo: 'Please, please help me,' man caught in tiger's mouth shrieks
Editor's note: Due to its graphic nature, Naples Daily News and The News-Press have added a warning in the beginning of the video, which is included in this story.
"Please, please help me, please," a man screams before shrieking in pain as Collier County deputies approach a tiger's enclosure at Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens, according to body camera footage from the sheriff's office.
The grisly video released Thursday appears to show the tiger's jaw wrapped around the man's arm between his hand and elbow.
Identified by the Collier County Sheriff's Office as River Rosenquist, 26, of Naples, he braces his body against the enclosure, his leg in the air, his shoulder in the dirt. Rosenquist is a contract employee as part of a crew to clean the restrooms and gift shop at the zoo. They are not allowed in animal enclosures.
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At five and a half minutes into the video, the deputy appears to call off a response from Naples police. “You can cancel the city,” he appears to say to dispatch, and then yells to someone at the scene, “Hey, you guys can cancel, bro.”
The deputy arrives and asks bystanders if they have a tranquilizer while Rosenquist continues to try to pull his arm free. The body cam notes that it's been a little more than six minutes since the deputy turned on his camera and sped to the zoo after receiving a 911 call.
"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, shoot, shoot shoot," Rosenquist pleads before repeating his refrain.
The deputy shines a flashlight around the dark zoo, showing the tiger latched onto Rosenquist. Based on the body cam video, the deputy draws his service pistol and surveys the area before locking onto the tiger. A flash of light and the sound of gunfire fills the air.
"Oh, no," Rosenquist shouts.
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The tiger, Eko, an 8-year-old critically endangered Malayan tiger, disappears into the dark.
Off camera, a person pulls Rosenquist from the enclosure as other rescuers find a tourniquet. They get him to the fence and lift him over within a minute of the deputy's arrival.
According to reports, emergency workers took him to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where he was in serious condition.
Zoo officials said Thursday they fully support the deputy and the sheriff's department in making the decision to shoot Eko.
While the zoo has an armed emergency response team, the incident occurred about two hours after the zoo closed for the day and the public had left.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Tiger attack at Florida zoo: In video, man pleads, 'Please, please help'
