Undated photo of Eko, the Malaysian tiger at the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Garden that was shot and killed on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Naples Zoo of Caribbean Gardens Facebook
Dec. 31 (UPI) -- In some of their first comments since a Florida sheriff deputy shot a killed Eko, a rare Malaysian tiger at the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens, officials said the officer had no other choice in an effort to save the life of a cleaning crew member.
Naples Zoo said in a statement that River Rosenquist, 26, who works for a third-party cleaning crew, jumped into an unauthorized area in front of the Malaysian tiger habitat where he tried to pet or feed the tiger, when the animal latched on to his arm.
The tiger managed to pull Rosenquist partially into the enclosure when a Collier County Sheriff deputy arrived on the scene.
"After the deputy initially tried to get the tiger to release the arm, he was left with no option but to shoot the animal to save the young man's life," the zoo said. "The tiger was confirmed dead by Naples Zoo's veterinarian.
The zoo said while Rosenquist was in an unauthorized area, he never attempted to enter the tiger's habitat.
"Our deputy did everything he could do in that situation, and he ultimately made the only possible decision he could in order to save this man's life," Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said in a statement.
"This was a tragic encounter at our world-class zoo facility. We value our community partnership with the Naples Zoo and their focus on conservation and education."
Jack Mulvena, president and CEO of the Naples Zoo, called Rosenquist's decision to enter the unauthorized area, "a bad mistake, and unfortunate."
"At the end of the day, things happen that are, to a degree, beyond your control, even though you try to control them," he added.
Eko had been a fixture at the Naples Zoo, about 100 miles west of Miami, since 2020 after coming from Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo.
