Overview
- The keeper was attacked inside the indoor enclosure of two male Persian panthers and suffered severe head and neck injuries; she was airlifted to hospital, operated on and later kept sedated before dying on Tuesday.
- The park says staff are normally not in the animals’ space and that there are no cameras in the enclosure, a gap that investigators say will make reconstructing the incident harder.
- Safaripark Beekse Bergen has opened an internal probe, hired an external firm for an independent inquiry, and the Dutch Labour Inspectorate has launched a workplace‑safety investigation.
- The panthers had been kept indoors because of Storm Austen the night before the attack and, barring findings that the animals were unwell, the park says their care will continue as normal.
- Colleagues, the national zoo association and other Dutch zoos have expressed condolences, the park has set up a condolence register and is providing support to the victim’s family and staff while the probes continue.