FWC releases new details on Naples Zoo tiger attack

A report on the tiger attack at the Naples Zoo shows what it was like for the 26-year-old who almost had his arm bitten off in December.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found River Rosenquist was not supposed to be near the enclosure where the attack happened. And he smelled like alcohol, according to an ER nurse who intubated him, the report said.

The attack ended in a near-amputation of Rosenquist’s left arm and the death of Eko the tiger, who was shot by a Collier County deputy in order to rescue Rosenquist.

Rosenquist was part of the crew of cleaners contracted to clean the administrative areas of the zoo.

The report states there were “no violations as it relates to the Naples Zoo.”

Rosenquist, meanwhile, had to have breached the barrier by jumping over it and inserting his hand or arm into Eko’s enclosure.

Johnathan Slaby runs the Kowiachobee Animal Preserve. He said, “it’s always the human error factor or the human factor that becomes the problem.”

Body camera video showed the moment when a Collier County deputy found Rosenquist pinned on the ground caught in Eko’s grasp. The only way to save Rosenquist was to shoot Eko.