"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.
