A routine morning at a popular safari park turned into a terrifying emergency when a leopard attacked an experienced zookeeper, leaving her critically injured and desperately calling for help over her walkie-talkie.
The woman, believed to be in her 50s, was working at Safaripark Beekse Bergen in Hilvarenbeek, the Netherlands, around 11 a.m. Saturday when the attack unfolded inside an enclosure housing two male Persian leopards.
Despite suffering serious injuries, she managed to alert her coworkers over the radio. Staff members rushed to the enclosure, where they discovered their colleague badly wounded and immediately called emergency services.
Ambulances and a medical helicopter responded to the zoo, and the injured woman received emergency treatment before being rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital.
She underwent surgery Saturday and survived the night, but zoo officials confirmed Sunday that her condition remained extremely concerning. Although the operation went as expected, she was being kept sedated as doctors continued treating her injuries.
The frightening incident has raised troubling questions about how such an experienced employee ended up in the same enclosure as a dangerous predator.
According to park officials, the woman has worked at Beekse Bergen for 25 years, including eight years caring for its big cats. Colleagues described her as highly experienced and particularly attentive to safety procedures.
The attack occurred as she and another employee were conducting their morning rounds. Although the two were working near one another, the woman was alone inside the indoor enclosure when she encountered the leopard.
Investigators are now examining whether severe weather the previous evening may have played a role. The zoo’s two Persian leopards had been moved indoors because of a storm, rather than remaining in their usual outdoor area.
That change had reportedly been documented and communicated between staff members, but officials have not established whether the injured zookeeper knew the animals were inside.
Under the park’s normal safety procedures, employees are not supposed to occupy the same space as dangerous predators. Zookeepers also work in pairs to reduce the risk of accidentally opening doors that could expose staff to the animals.
Exactly how those safeguards failed remains a mystery, particularly because there are no surveillance cameras inside the enclosure where the attack occurred.
Martin van Hees, the park’s head of animal care, expressed shock over the incident, emphasizing that even experienced professionals face risks when working with powerful wild animals.
Dutch workplace safety inspectors have launched an investigation, while zoo management is conducting its own review to determine what went wrong.
Despite the severity of the attack, officials have made clear that the leopard will not be euthanized. They explained that the animal was displaying natural predatory behavior and should not be punished for the incident.
The safari park remained open following the emergency, and officials confirmed that no visitors were involved.
For now, the focus remains on the injured employee’s recovery as investigators work to determine how a routine morning inside one of the park’s most dangerous animal habitats ended in such a devastating encounter.
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