A zookeeper was attacked and killed by a Sumatran tiger in Wroclaw, Poland on Wednesday.
The Associated Press reported that the zoo’s director and local authorities said that the attack likely took place in the morning hours while the keeper was doing a routine cleaning of the animal’s exhibit.
The keeper’s name has not yet been released, but zoo officials said he was a 58-year-old male who had many years of experience caring for the tigers.
Sky News noted that a police spokesperson said when the rare tiger attacked the man he was killed "virtually on the spot."
The zoo was scheduled to hold an international conference of European zoo directors on Thursday.
Sumatran tigers are the smallest of the tiger subspecies and are found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They are critically endangered and protected under Indonesian law, however, poaching continues to be a problem. The animals are also threatened by deforestation. There are only around 400 left in the wild.
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