A 2-year-old was mauled by a leopard at a safari park in Koh Samui, Thailand after the grandfather of the boy mistakenly opened the door to its pen.
2-year-old Orr Burns and his family were at the safari park in Koh Samui
The family, who are actually from Rishon LeTsiyon, were in the country as tourists. They were spending some time with the elephants before they moved towards the Big Cat Enclosure.
The family wanted to take some photos with a leopard in the safari park.
Headed towards the big cat enclosure of the safari park, the grandfather of the mistakenly opened the door that was keeping the Leopard away from humans.
After the door was mistakenly opened by the grandfather, Tony, the 6-year-old leopard, burst through the door and attacked the toddler.
Before bursting through the door, the leopard hesitated for a while.
The 2-year-old boy sustained a fractured cheekbone.
According to Rafi, the father of the 2-year-old boy, the leopard pinned his son to the ground when it attacked him.
People in the zoo kicked the leopard in the head with the hopes of stopping the fatal attack.
During an interview with a local news agency in Thailand, Rafi said, “The leopard is supposed to be drowsy, fuzzy and not aggressive. There should be a person next to the animal’s cage. There was no ambulance there and they didn’t know how to evacuate him. We felt like we were helpless. I rushed to the cars and asked for him to be taken to the hospital. Everyone was scared and didn’t want to take. We didn’t believe such a disaster would happen.”
Rafe Benvensiti, the uncle of the 2-year-old boy, said they went to the safari park to enjoy elephant rides and to take pictures with the leopard.
Rafe said he was not expecting this type of thing to happen.
During an interview, Rafi said, “We waited at the door and it was closed with a hook. Nobody knew what was behind the door, so one of the men opened the handle, and the tiger ran to the door and escaped. There were screams. [The leopard] jumped on Orr’s mother, passed under her feet then leapt at the child.”
He added, “[The leopard] locked onto his face for four or five seconds. He didn’t release Orr until one of the locals kicked the tiger in the head. Everyone was shocked. We were looking for someone to take us to a hospital. We started screaming until someone drove a vehicle and took us. ”
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The 2-year-old boy was rushed to the Bangkok Hospital Samui, where the doctors confirmed he sustained a broken cheekbone and a wound on his face.
Naphat Peumsut, a zookeeper at the safari park said the zoo is going to pay the medical bill of the boy.
A statement that was released by Naphat said, ”Relatives of the boy opened the door by mistake and they were not able to close it in time. The leopard then escaped. Staff quickly responded and pushed the leopard back into the cage in under ten seconds.”
Naphat added, ”Authorities from the safari park took the injured boy to Bangkok Hospital Samui. He had a wound on the face and a broken cheek bone. The zoo took care of every issue, including accommodation costs and medical fee, and co-ordinated with the insurance company.”
What are your thoughts about this incident? Should the grandfather of the 2-year-old boy be held responsible for the incident? Share your thoughts below in the comment section and let us know what you think!