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Florida Man Injured and Taken to Hospital After Tiger Attack

Authorities said that the man, a 50-year-old Florida man and worker at Wooten’s Airboat Tours, was not authorized to be in the tiger’s cage and was attacked by the tiger.

On Tuesday afternoon, a tiger attacked a tourist attraction visitor in Florida’s Everglades region, injuring him on both arms.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office confirmed via their Facebook The sheriff’s office stated that the assault occurred at 4:30 p.m. local time, when deputies were dispatched to Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours in Florida.

The sheriff’s office reported that “a tiger in an enclosure at that location was being fed by it’s [sic] caretaker when a 50 year old male, an employee of Wooten’s who was not authorized to be with the tiger, entered the tiger’s enclosure. The tiger attacked the man and caused injuries to both arms. The man has been transported to a hospital by EMS.”

The news revealed that the tiger was unharmed and that its keeper was able to safely contain it.

“We are having a hard time comprehending this happening again,” the Facebook announcement said, while on Twitter, the sheriff’s department wrote, “Hard to believe but another tiger attack. Man injured, tiger ok.”

Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours is a tourist attraction in Ochopee, Florida that offers airboat trips, swamp buggy rides, alligator shows, and other activities including the chance to see tigers, lions, and otters at its Animal Sanctuary.

According to the website, Wooten’s refuge houses two lions and two tigers.

A blog entry on their site acknowledged that there was a tiger incident on Tuesday, with a note that read, “More information coming soon.”

A previous entry on the blog identifies the two tigers at Wooten’s as a male white tiger, and a female Siberian tiger.

The site mentioned that all the animals in the sanctuary get “regular USDA and veterinary visits to make sure” they are “happy and healthy.”

This is the second tiger attack in three months in Florida (not at the same place, to be clear).

A tiger was shot and killed at the Naples Zoo in late December after it attacked a visitor.

According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the situation, the zoo tiger attacked and “significantly” injured the man, forcing him to go to hospital.

The man was reportedly attempting to enter the tiger enclosure at the Naples Zoo via an authorized area when he was attacked.

What are your thoughts on these attacks? Let us know in the comments below.

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