Antelope gores zoo worker to death in Sweden

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A zoo worker died late Sunday after an antelope at the animal park gored him to death in Sweden, according to local media reports.

Police officers were called to the Oland Animal and Entertainment Park on the southwestern island of Oland around 5 p.m. on Sunday where the man, who has not been identified, was found dead, police spokesperson Robert Loeffel told Swedish broadcaster SVT.

The worker, who had many years of experience handling eland antelopes, was taking the animals to the stables after the park had closed.

The zoo confirmed the man's death on its website and said it would remain closed and provide staff with support and counseling after the death of their colleague.

The incident was witnessed by the zoo's chief executive, Richard Berglund, who told the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter that the antelope is still at the zoo and will not be euthanized but may be moved to another zoo.

"I myself was involved and it could not have been done in any other way," Berglund told SVT.

"We were going to feed the animals and suddenly it attacked, we have never had any problems with those animals before."

Police officials said that they regard the situation as a "very serious incident" and is being investigated as a possible crime of "causing the death of another."

Under Swedish law, causing the death of another is defined as "whoever causes the death of another through negligence is sentenced for causing the death of another to imprisonment for a maximum of two years or, if the crime is minor, to a fine."

Rickard Lundqvist, a police spokesperson, told SVT that such investigations are routine when an incident happens at a workplace and does not have to mean that a person is a suspect.

Elands are one of the two largest antelope species and are found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa. Male elands can weigh up to a ton.