"I am no fool" Big cat injures senior - now the "tiger queen" speaks out
A tiger escaped in Leipzig at the weekend and seriously injured a person. The owner of the animal has now spoken out about the incident for the first time.
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- An escaped tiger from a private facility in Leipzig has been shot dead after seriously injuring a 73-year-old man.
- The operator, Carmen Zander, rejects any blame and is shocked, but emphasizes that all safety precautions had been observed.
- The public prosecutor's office is now investigating the exact course of events and possible breaches of safety regulations.
At the weekend, police in Leipzig shot and killed an escaped tiger. The animal had escaped from a private facility in the Dölzig district of Schkeuditz. The tamer Carmen Zander, known as the "Tiger Queen", keeps several big cats in an industrial estate there. According to reports, there are still eight tigers in the enclosure.
A 73-year-old man was seriously injured in the incident. He suffered bite and scratch wounds, was taken to hospital and is currently not fit for questioning, as reported by DPA.
Zander initially did not respond to an inquiry from the media, but has now spoken to RTL. She says that she was not on site during the attack and that the incident "completely threw her off track". She continues: "I thought I was in a nightmare," she says. And: "I didn't do anything wrong! My employees and helpers were instructed 100 percent."
Zander rejects criticism of her work: "I know my trade. I'm not a dummy who suddenly thinks I have to work with predators," she tells the broadcaster.
Safety was always guaranteed: "Safety was and is always guaranteed. And that's why it's all the more difficult for me to understand what happened here."
Tiger was considered a "scaredy-cat"
According to Zander, the tiger involved, "Sandokan", a nine-year-old animal weighing around 280 kilograms, was considered her "cuddly bear". However, Zander described him as a "scaredy-cat" on her website: "If he can't assess something, he is quickly overwhelmed and becomes insecure. An attack can therefore be triggered more quickly and unexpectedly."
The public prosecutor's office is now investigating the exact sequence of events and possible breaches of safety regulations. The role of the injured helper is also the subject of the investigation.
