Israel
Zookeeper killed by leopard at a Jerusalem zoo
A man, believed to be the leopard trainer at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, was killed after being attacked by one of the big cats during feeding time
August 1, 2025 10:50
A man, believed to be the leopard trainer at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, was killed after being attacked by one of the big cats during feeding time
August 1, 2025 10:50A zookeeper has died after being attacked by a leopard at a zoo in Israel.
The incident happened on Friday at The Tisch Family Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem , when the employee, 36-year-old Uriel Nuri, entered the enclosure to feed the big cats. The predators were meant to be housed in a building at least while the feeding took place, however one of them is said to have escaped into the inner courtyard.
It is believed that during the feeding the leopard attacked the man, fatally wounding him.
The zoo said in a statement: "During a routine activity to prepare food for the leopards, which took place as part of a behind-the-scenes tour for visitors of the zoo, a leopard managed to escape from the leopard house into the inner courtyard and attacked one of the zoo employees.
"At no point was there any physical danger to the visitors, who were protected behind a glass window. With the help of the Israel Police, we are now conducting a comprehensive investigation to understand how the leopard managed to escape into the courtyard."
Staff at the zoo managed to remove the man from the enclosure to be treated and emergency services were called. They did not have to kill the leopard.
Dov Shari, a paramedic who came to the scene, said: "I ran over and saw a man lying unconscious, with significant injuries to his neck.
"We immediately attempted to stop the bleeding, and very quickly, another [team of paramedics] arrived.
Shari said they performed CPR on the man to keep him alive before being taken to the hospital.
The employee was found unconscious with major wounds to his neck and, according to the Jerusalem Post, he was taken to Hadassah-University Medical Center in Ein Kerem.
He was found to have critical injuries sustained during the attack. After arriving at the hospital, medics tried desperately to resuscitate him, but to no avail and he was declared dead.
Police are now investigating the incident.
The JC has contacted the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.
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