Beekse Bergen animal keeper dies after panther attack
The 54-year-old woman died in hospital on Tuesday; the Labour Inspectorate is investigating how the attack could have happened.
The animal keeper who was seriously injured in a panther attack at Safaripark Beekse Bergen on Saturday has died. The park announced this on Tuesday. The Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie is investigating the circumstances. Beekse Bergen says it is also conducting its own investigation.
The woman was attacked on Saturday 24 October in an indoor enclosure for the panthers in Hilvarenbeek. After the attack, she managed to raise the alarm herself using her radio and was taken to hospital. She underwent surgery there.
According to the safari park, her condition remained critical after the operation. On Monday, Beekse Bergen said that the situation was still precarious. On Tuesday, the park confirmed that the woman had died of her injuries.
The keeper had worked at Beekse Bergen for almost forty years and in recent years had been involved, among other things, in caring for the panthers. The park says that her death has major consequences for her family, colleagues and others involved.
Much remains unknown about the precise circumstances. According to the park, the panthers were indoors because of the bad weather. It is not clear why the keeper and a panther were in the enclosure at the same time. According to the park, there were no cameras in the enclosure.
Beekse Bergen says it is conducting its own investigation. The Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie is also investigating the incident. The park has previously said that employees do not normally work in the same space as predators at the same time. Whether existing protocols were followed has yet to be established.
According to earlier statements by the park, the panthers will remain at the safari park and will continue to be cared for in the usual way. Neither the Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie nor the park has published any conclusions about possible errors or responsibility. The woman has not been named in reports.
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This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article's central claims have been confirmed by the safari park and independent reporting. Details about the circumstances have been carefully presented as uncertain.
- confirmed The animal keeper died on 27 October following the panther attack. — Confirmed in reporting by NOS and by the safari park. source
- confirmed The attack took place on 24 October in an indoor enclosure at Beekse Bergen. — Confirmed by Omroep Brabant and NOS reporting. source
- confirmed The Labour Inspectorate is investigating the circumstances. — Mentioned by Omroep Brabant. source
- confirmed It remains unclear whether existing protocols were followed. — Available reporting states that the circumstances and the presence of people and animals in the enclosure are being investigated. source
Editor's note
The death and the investigations have been confirmed by the park and reported by NOS and Omroep Brabant. The precise circumstances, the number of panthers involved and whether protocols were followed remain uncertain.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- NU.nl — „beekse bergen”
- De Telegraaf — „beekse bergen”
- AD — „beekse bergen”