New footage appears to show the man who was fatally attacked by a tiger at a zoo moving towards the animal after climbing into its enclosure.
The unnamed man died after entering the tiger habitat at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday afternoon.
The video, which is said to have been recorded inside the enclosure, shows the person filming gradually moving towards a wooden platform where one of the tigers is lying.
The man’s heavy breathing can be heard in the background as stunned visitors react, with one heard saying: ‘Oh my God.’
Shortly before the incident, the man had reportedly been dancing alone to music before asking Del Taylor to photograph him with Altai, the 200kg male Siberian tiger, behind him.
He then started to climb into the enclosure, despite a woman’s desperate attempt to restrain him, before falling around 12ft to the ground below.
As the tiger attacked, the man was heard repeatedly shouting ‘stop’ and appeared to use the Makaton sign for ‘bad’, a communication system often used by people who have difficulty speaking or communicating.
The incident comes as the witness who took the final photograph of the man before he entered the tiger enclosure and was mauled to death fought back tears while urging online trolls to think carefully before making cruel comments.
In an emotional video shared on social media last night, Del Taylor asked people making jokes about the tragedy to ‘think about why maybe he’d do something like this’.
Ms Taylor said she was deeply upset by the knowledge that she had taken what may have been the man’s final photograph, while criticising the ‘not very nice’ and ‘presumptuous’ remarks appearing online.
‘I’ve seen a lot of speculation online about this person, this man, and a lot of it is not very nice, very presumptuous,’ she said in a video posted to TikTok.
Footage said to have been recorded inside the enclosure shows the camera operator slowly moving towards a wooden platform where one of the tigers is resting
A man died after climbing into the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday (Pictured: Altai, one of the two tigers)
An air ambulance and police vehicle were seen at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday afternoon
In an emotional social media video, Del Taylor urged people joking about the incident to ‘think about why maybe he’d do something like this’
‘I just wish people would pause for a moment and consider why maybe he’d do something like this.’
‘Maybe it was a lack of awareness of danger. I just feel that if somebody had seen this man, as myself and a few other people had that day, and watched him dancing up and down the bridge with his AirPods in.’
‘He was so happy. Then he came and stood next to us, handed me his phone and asked me to take his picture. If you had seen him, without me saying too much, you would understand why I’m saying what I’m saying.’
She added: ‘It’s so upsetting to think that, apart from that terrible viral video of him being attacked by the tiger, the last photograph of that man probably alive is the one I took for him on his phone.’
‘I’m simply asking people to keep a more open mind about what happened.’
Ms Taylor said she was speaking out after her name appeared ‘all over’ social media, after witnesses described the minutes before the fatal attack. The video was later deleted.
Those at the scene described the man as having been dancing up and down a walkway above the enclosure before asking Ms Taylor for the picture.
After the man was attacked, he screamed ‘stop’ several times and told the tiger to ‘stop being naughty’. Onlookers said he appeared ‘not attached to reality’.
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The scene at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday after a tiger mauled a man who entered its enclosure
Visitors were evacuated by staff before the park was closed for the remainder of the day after the attack
Distressing footage of the attack was uploaded to social media and showed the tiger pawing at and toying with the man. Parkgoers said they then saw it jump onto the man’s neck.
Parkgoers were rapidly evacuated and emergency services, including an air ambulance, rushed to the scene, but the man was confirmed to have died.
Zookeepers were said to have done ‘everything they could’ to drive Altai off, firing five loud acoustic gun blasts in attempts to scare him.
Two ambulances and a helicopter rushed to the park at 1.35pm, with a ‘black screen’ erected around the enclosure as lifesaving treatment was attempted.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which remains closed, confirmed that Altai will not be euthanised in the wake of the incident.
A video clip appeared to show the man moments before he entered the enclosure asking fellow parkgoers to take a picture of him with the animal.
He says: ‘Excuse me, can you grab a shot of myself with the tiger?’ while Altai lies in the background under a shaded tree, playing with a fallen branch.
A woman, believed to be Ms Taylor, agrees and takes a photo, before he asks three times for ‘one more’ picture and then says: ‘Thank you, lady.’
An animal ranger at the zoo, Charlotte Pywell, said: ‘I was not there. I don’t know who the guy was or what made him jump.
‘It was not the tiger’s fault at all. It was just something else to play with. The keepers are all distraught. It was not a very nice day.’
In a statement, the park said: ‘Many, many people have contacted us about Altai, the tiger.
‘We can reassure everyone that he is safe and well and will not be euthanised as a result of this incident.
‘We would like to thank everyone who has expressed their concern following yesterday’s tragic incident.’
The licensing authority for Yorkshire Wildlife Park, City of Doncaster Council, has now launched a health and safety investigation into the man’s death.
Dan Swaine, executive director of place at City of Doncaster Council, said: ‘As the relevant licensing authority for the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, I can confirm that, in line with our statutory duties, the council has launched a health and safety investigation.
‘We are also working with multiple agencies, including the police and health agencies, and are supporting the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in response to the incident.
‘At this time, we won’t be commenting further on the individual or the investigation and we ask that the privacy of those involved is respected at this difficult time.’
Yorkshire Wildlife Park opened in 2009, with the Land of the Tigers attraction opening in 2011.
The attraction is a purpose-built, two-acre reserve for Amur tigers, an endangered subspecies with around 500 left in the wild.
Photos of the enclosure on the park’s website show a high walkway for visitors and fencing above the section where the tigers can roam.