Authorities say River Rosenquist was an employee of a third-party company hired to clean the bathrooms.
An endangered tiger named Eko was put down after attacking an after-hours cleaner who unlawfully entered the tiger’s enclosure.
Collier County Sheriff’s deputies responded to 26-year-old River Rosenquist's 911 call from the Naples Zoo in Florida. Authorities say Rosenquist was an employee of a third-party company hired to clean the bathrooms.
Deputies believe he was in an unauthorized area after the zoo closed and stuck his hand inside the Eko’s enclosure fence. The tiger then grabbed his hand.
To save Rosenquist’s life, a deputy shot the endangered tiger one time after other methods to get Eko to release the man’s arm failed. This was enough to kill him.
Eko was a Malayan Tiger. The species is so critically endangered that experts say they could be extinct within the next five to ten years. Right now, there’s less than 200 left in the wild.
According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, an investigation will determine whether criminal charges will be filed against Rosenquist.
