A lot can happen in 10 seconds. That was all it took for a leopard to escape his cage and seriously injure an Israeli toddler on Koh Samui.
The Namuang Safari Park on the Surat Thani provincial island today was reluctant to answer questions about what resulted in a 2-year-old tourist being rushed to the hospital with face injuries, including fractures to both cheekbones.
“We are no longer talking to the press or providing anyone any more information,” an impatient-sounding Naphat Pluemsut, zoo executive advisor, told Coconuts Bangkok this afternoon.
Security camera footage circulating online shows the moment the big cat slipped out of its poorly secured cage. Filmed from inside the pen, the footage shows a man open the door to it only to inexplicably turn his back to the leopard, who peers out curiously before seizing the opportunity to slip out. Slivers of panic can be glimpsed through the open door before the spooked leopard slinks back in with a staffer in pursuit.
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Naphat had previously said that the leopard, a 6-year-old male named Tony, is usually extremely well-behaved. He said that the leopard made its escape after the injured toddler’s uncle opened the door and left it open after realizing what was on the other side. He acknowledged the door to Tony’s enclosure is latched from the outside and doesn’t require a key to open. There is a sign on the door – he pointed out – reading “no entry unless accompanied by a staff member.”
During that slim moment Tony slipped out, he either charged into or pounced upon the toddler that had been walking around the zoo with his mother.
“Tony is usually a very tame. During the incident, there were a lot of tourists, so I think that he panicked and ended up running into the toddler, who was in his path” Naphat told reporters.
The 2-year-old boy was rushed to Bangkok Hospital Samui. Naphat said the Namuang Safari Park had taken good care of the victim and would compensate the family for their medical expenses and accommodations.
The boy reportedly was in stable condition when he left Samui on Saturday to return to Israel with his family.
The park, meanwhile, said it would increase the number of staff and build another cage for the big cats. From now on, tourists won’t be able to simply unlatch doors separating squishy human from wild feline.
“I want tourists to read signs and obey the recommendations of the zoo’s staff,” Naphat added, less than helpfully.
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