Buzz
[WARNING: Contains disturbing images.] Normally, a zoo visit involves animals lounging around, trying to escape the heat. If you're fortunate, you may catch a glimpse of a large cat feasting on something provided by its trainers.
Occasionally, trainers and handlers are injured or even killed, but such risks are part of the job.
On rare occasions, things can take a dramatic turn for the worse for those hoping for a peaceful day at the zoo.
10. Maqsood
A 20-year-old man from Delhi, India, known only as Maqsood, developed an intense fascination with tigers after visiting the Delhi Zoo in June 2014.
After losing his job as a porter in mid-2014, Maqsood began visiting the zoo in the afternoons, telling his mother and pregnant wife he was out job hunting.
On September 24, 2014, Maqsood was at his favorite spot in the Delhi Zoo—the white tiger exhibit. He was seen leaning over the enclosure wall, and a guard warned him to stop.
When the guard wasn’t paying attention, Maqsood fell into the tiger's enclosure, landing 15 feet below in a moat. Moments later, Vijay, a 7-year-old, 6-foot, 450-pound white tiger approached. As Maqsood crouched, either begging or praying, the tiger attacked, biting his neck and dragging him to the far side of the enclosure.
Fifteen minutes after Vijay dragged Maqsood away, zoo staff managed to lure the tiger to another part of the enclosure using meat.
Unfortunately, it was too late for Maqsood; he succumbed to his injuries.
After the tragic incident, zoo attendance surged, and the tiger exhibit became a major attraction. Vijay remains at the zoo, with staff insisting he’s not a man-eater, though they continue to monitor him closely, just in case.
9. Roger Dean Adams
On July 5, 1970, 19-year-old Roger Dean Adams and his two friends were drinking beer when they decided to visit the Oregon Zoo. Upon arriving, they were disappointed to find it was closed.
Undeterred, the trio broke into the zoo and began exploring. Their first stop was the penguin exhibit, where they crossed the railing. Inside the enclosure, Adams grabbed one of the smaller penguins and tossed it into the pool.
Feeling more daring, Adams and his friends made their way to the bear enclosure. Adams scaled the wall, lowered himself down, and kicked a bear in the head a few times. Afterward, he managed to climb out of the enclosure without injury.
Having escaped unscathed, the trio moved on to the lion exhibit. Adams scaled the wall and dropped into the cage. While hanging on to the wall, he kicked an 11-year-old lioness named Sis in the head. In response, Sis leapt up and yanked Adams into the cage as he attempted to climb out.
Adams' friends tried to fend her off by throwing rocks and bottles, but eventually, they were forced to call for assistance.
When the police arrived, they had no choice but to shoot both Sis and a 15-year-old male lion named Caesar.
Roger Dean Adams was already dead by the time the police killed the two lions.
When a newspaper reporter asked the zoo president about the incident, he responded that his opinion was too inappropriate to print. He emphasized that the lions were exactly where they were supposed to be.
8. Prakesh Tiwari
On New Year’s Day in 1996, Prakesh Tiwari and Suresh Rai, both in their 20s, spent part of their day drinking in Calcutta, India. For an unknown reason, they decided to cap off their celebration with a visit to the tiger exhibit at the Calcutta Zoo.
Armed with a gold garland, the two climbed into the tiger's enclosure and crossed the moat. They encountered a 13-year-old Bengal tiger named Shiva. Rai draped the garland around Shiva’s neck, which angered the tiger. Shiva then lunged at Rai. To save his friend, Tiwari kicked the tiger in the face, causing Shiva to shift her focus to him.
Zoo staff noticed the chaos and quickly responded. While they managed to rescue Rai, Tiwari succumbed to the injuries from the attack.
7. Jayaprakash Bezbaruah
On December 19, 2007, 50-year-old Jayaprakash Bezbaruah visited the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati, India, with his wife and two children.
In an attempt to capture a photo of two Bengal tigers, Bezbaruah ignored the guards' warnings and climbed over a barrier. Once close to the enclosure, he reached his arm between the bars. Suddenly, two tigers seized his arm and, in a horrifying scene before his family and numerous witnesses, ripped it off.
Bezbaruah was rushed to the hospital, but he ultimately succumbed to blood loss.
6. Carlos Eduardo Sousa Jr.
It was just after closing time at the San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day, 2007. 17-year-old Carlos Eduardo Sousa Jr. and his two friends, brothers 19-year-old Paul Dhaliwal and 23-year-old Kulbir Dhaliwal, had spent the afternoon at the zoo.
As they were leaving, they walked past the tiger grotto.
It’s believed that the three young men provoked a 4-year-old Siberian tiger named Tatiana. Weighing 450 pounds, Tatiana jumped out of the grotto and caught the top of the 12-and-a-half-foot wall, which didn’t meet federal standards. She pulled herself up and out of the enclosure, landing on the asphalt before attacking Paul. Carlos and Kulbir tried to distract the tiger, but Tatiana pounced on Carlos. The Dhaliwal brothers fled to a nearby zoo café, shouting for help.
After killing Carlos, the tiger followed Paul’s blood trail, tracking him for about 300 yards. When Tatiana found Paul, he was with Kulbir, and she began mauling Kulbir. Police arrived soon after and had no choice but to kill Tatiana.
Both Paul and Kulbir Dhaliwal survived the attack.
5. David Mark Wasson
On September 3, 1977, 6-year-old David Mark Wasson and his father visited the Miami Serpentarium. The two stopped at the crocodile pit, where David was placed on top of the enclosure wall so they could throw sea grapes to the crocodiles below.
As his father turned to grab more sea grapes, David lost his balance and fell into the pit. A guard, who witnessed the incident, reported that Cookie, a 12-foot African crocodile, reacted immediately. From 10 feet away, Cookie lunged at David and clamped his jaws around the boy’s chest, shaking him violently and slamming his head against the wall.
Another man jumped into the pit to rescue David. He managed to grab hold of the boy, but Cookie maintained his grip. The man was dragged toward the water as Cookie pulled David into it, forcing the man to release his hold.
Once in the water, the crocodile held David’s body underwater for five or six minutes. Cookie only released the boy’s body after being poked in the eye.
David was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital.
The serpentarium’s owner was deeply affected by the tragedy. In his grief, he shot Cookie seven times, and it took an hour for the crocodile to finally die.
4. Juan Perez
On May 19, 1987, 11-year-old Juan Perez and two of his friends visited the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn, New York, after it had closed for the evening.
Around 7:00 p.m., the group started daring each other to take a swim in some of the animal enclosures.
At first, they swam in the moat of the seal exhibit, but that wasn’t quite thrilling enough for them. The three boys then decided to take a swim in the polar bear enclosure.
The boys undressed, but two of them hesitated. Juan, eager for more adventure, threw their clothes into the moat to push his friends into the cage. The commotion alerted the two polar bears, a male and a female, both over eight feet tall and weighing more than 900 pounds.
When Juan entered the water, the bears approached. Instead of escaping, he provoked the female bear. This caused the male bear to bite him on the shoulder and drag him away. As he was pulled away, Juan yelled to his friends, 'Go get help! They’re biting me hard!' His friends screamed for help but then took cover.
The police arrived a few minutes later, but it took them 20 minutes to get the zoo unlocked. Upon reaching the polar bear enclosure, they found the two bears fighting over what remained of Juan.
Officers were informed that there were more children in the enclosure, and they could see children's clothing floating in the moat.
The police, left with no other option, fired 20 shots from a 12-gauge shotgun and 6 shots from a revolver at the bears. Both animals succumbed to their injuries.
It wasn't until after the bears were shot that the police realized the other two boys hadn't entered the enclosure at all.
3. Maddox Derkosh
On November 4, 2012, two-year-old Maddox Derkosh visited the painted dog exhibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo with his parents. His mother placed him on the railing, but he tragically lost his balance and fell in. Though safety nets were in place, witnesses said Maddox bounced twice before plummeting into the enclosure.
The eleven painted dogs, known for their territorial nature, immediately attacked the young boy. Despite nearby zookeepers, there was little they could do, as Maddox was already beyond help by the time they reached him.
One of the painted dogs had to be euthanized because it wouldn't leave the boy's body alone.
After the incident, the zoo decided to rehome the remaining painted dogs. The Derkosh family sued the Pittsburgh Zoo, with the zoo’s legal team claiming Maddox’s mother was responsible for the tragedy. In the end, the case was settled in June 2014.
2. Julia Ann Vogt
In May of 1958, Julia Ann Vogt, a 2½-year-old girl, traveled with her mother and sister from Chilliwack, British Columbia, to Washington D.C. to visit her grandparents.
On May 16, the family decided to visit the National Zoo on a beautiful day. Julia Ann’s grandfather, Harry Jackson, took her to see the lions. Somehow, Julia Ann slipped past the guardrail and was approached by a male African lion named Passion. The lion grabbed her leg, and despite Jackson's attempts to rescue her, the lion was too strong. Passion dragged her into the cage, carrying her by her body. When he dropped her, a lioness named Princess attacked, and tragically decapitated her.
Witnessing his granddaughter being attacked by the lion, Jackson experienced a minor heart attack.
Julia Ann’s body was retrieved after zookeepers managed to drive the lions away with fire extinguishers. This heartbreaking incident shocked the zoo industry, leading to the implementation of stricter safety protocols.
Harry Jackson, Julia Ann's grandfather, survived the heart attack he suffered during the traumatic event.
1. Ruth Ellen Freedman
On June 28, 1966, three-year-old Ruth Ellen Freedman and her parents visited the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. During their visit, they stopped to see the zoo’s lone elephant, a 23-year-old Asian elephant named Winkie. Weighing three tons, Winkie had been at the zoo for two decades and was known for his calm demeanor, making him a favorite among children who enjoyed feeding him peanuts and popcorn.
On that tragic day, Ruth attempted to feed Winkie by ducking under a guardrail to get closer to the cage. Unexpectedly, Winkie reached out and coiled his trunk around her. Ruth’s mother screamed as Winkie forcefully slammed the little girl against the bars, rendering her unconscious. He then picked her up again, dropped her, and dragged her body into the cage where he repeatedly stomped on her.
Ruth's parents desperately tried to enter the cage to rescue their daughter, but their efforts were in vain. When the caretaker entered the cage, Winkie ceased his attack, allowing the caretaker to pull Ruth’s lifeless body out of the enclosure.
After the incident, Winkie was sent to a breeding farm. One of his offspring, also named Winkie, became notorious for being a dangerous animal. He killed a female handler and caused injuries to several other handlers and zoo visitors.
