A zookeeper who was mauled to death by a tiger was discovered by a visitor in the public viewing area who raised alarm to the incident.
Rosa King had been cleaning the windows of the tiger enclosure at Hamerton Zoo Park in Cambridgeshire when she was attacked by a Malayan male called Cicip.
An inquest at Huntingdon Town Hall today heard that she died at the scene on May 29 2017, after two gates and a metal vertical slide, which was in place to ensure staff were safe – was found to have been left open.
The 33-year-old had been working alone when she entered the enclosure shortly before it opened to the public at 10am.
Nicholas Moss, Cambridgeshire’s assistant coroner said Cicip ‘would tend to urinate on the windows during the day so they needed to be clean so the public could have a good view’.
Her body had been dragged to the far side of the enclosure before it was spotted by Frank York who had been visiting the zoo.
Seeing her body from the viewing area, her alarmed zoo keepers who fetched a tranquiliser gun, while armed firearms officers and paramedics attended.
Rosa King (pictured above with a cheetah) died after being mauled by a tiger. Her mother said she had ‘followed her dreams’
Rosa’s parent’s Andrea King (left) and Peter King (right) were pictured arriving at Huntingdon Town Hall today. Mrs King wept in court as she said it had been clear from a young age that her daughter would work with animals
The male Malayan tiger Cicip, pictured, killed Rosa in a ‘freak accident’ last year. Keepers were said to have been able to entice him back into the enclosure after the incident
Mr Moss told the jury: ‘He went to get help and a number of colleagues responded to that emergency.
‘The public were evacuated and the paramedics were called.
‘The keepers who came to assist were able to coerce the tiger back into his run and the slide was closed behind him to make the area safe again.
‘It was not necessary to shoot the tiger or put him down.’
Neither the tranquiliser nor police firearms were used.
On the day of the incident, Rosa was working alongside a work experience student called Lucy Tonkin between 9.15am and 9.35am until Rosa had to go work at the tiger house.
Rosa King (pictured above) was spotted by a visitor to the zoo who alerted other zoo keepers to the incident
Rosa King is pictured with two of the tigers at Hamerton Zoo Park on a previous world tiger day
Rosa King (pictured above) died at Hamerton Zoo Park in Cambridgeshire in what management described as a ‘freak accident’
Part of Rosa’s tasks were to clean the paddock including the viewing window and letting one of the tigers Cicip out of the tiger house.
At this time, the zoo was not open to the public which opened at 10am.
The inquest heard that keepers had been able to ‘entice Cicip’ back into his run and the ‘slide was closed behind him to make the area safe again’.
Mr Moss added: ‘It had been apparent from as soon as Rosa was seen that she had died.’
Her death was formally pronounced at 11.46am, with her many injuries including lacerations and puncture wounds.
Mr Moss said ‘immediately after the attack’ the slide intended to separate the main paddock from a run leading to the tiger house was found to be in the open position.
An inquest was previously told she sustained traumatic injuries in the incident on May 29, 2017
A police forensic officer inspects the cage with a zoo worker after the incident in June 2017
Police forensic officers inspect the area at Hamerton Zoo in 2017 where the attack happened
He added that it will need to be explored in depth as to how and what the reason was that the two gates used by keepers to access the paddock, one wooden and one metal, were also both open.
Mr Moss said a police investigation ‘suggested there was not any mechanical fault with the gates and slides’.
The inquest will hear evidence about the system used to ensure staff could not enter the paddock when tigers were present and whether that system ‘allowed protection against human error by the zookeeper who was in the tiger area’, Mr Moss said.
The inquest heard Ms King worked 45 hours a week during the summer months and also worked some overtime.
Investigations were carried out by police and Huntingdonshire District Council following the death
Miss King’s father Peter, pictured at a pre-inquest review in 2018, was at the hearing alongside a female companion. Both Rosa’s parents were said to have been on board with keeping the tiger alive
Her parents Peter and Andrea King listened to coroner Mr Moss open the inquest on Monday.
Mrs King, wiping tears from her eyes, said in evidence it was clear from the age of two that her daughter would end up working with animals.
She described her as ‘knowledgeable about all the animals in her care’, adding: ‘She followed her dreams and it wasn’t very often you wouldn’t see her with a smile on her face.’
Ms King, who worked at the zoo for 13 years, did not express concerns about working conditions, her mother said.
‘She thought two people working together wasn’t as safe as it would be easier to become complacent,’ she said.
The hearing, listed for two weeks, continues.
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