A 32-year-old woman was mauled to death by a captive tiger at an exotic animal farm in British Columbia while at least three children watched in horror.
The woman, Tanya Dumstrey-Soos, even spoke with her fiance, Kim Carlton, the owner of the farm, by cellphone as she lay dying after the attack, her employer said in an interview on Friday.
"Before she passed away Kim did say that he did have a chance to talk to Tanya," said Scott Nelson, who employed Dumstrey-Soos as a receptionist and saleswoman at the 100 Mile House Advisor newspaper.
"He said the two were able to say they loved each other and he was obviously horrified," Nelson said.
Nelson, who is also the mayor of Williams Lake, British Columbia, said that Dumstrey-Soos and Carlton had recently become engaged to be married.
The woman was found outside the cage when emergency services arrived at the farm on Thursday evening, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Corporal Scott Ksionzyk said.
"There is no indication that at any point the tiger was outside of the cage, nor is there any indication that the victim entered the cage," Ksionzyk said.
Nelson said that Carlton had described a bizarre, freak accident involving a tiger named Gangus.
Carlton "didn't think the tiger had bit her. It's that she had a dress on and she was standing there and he was playing with the dress and grabbed her legs," Nelson said.
"She was standing outside the cage and talking to Gangus, the cat swatted at the legs," he said.
He said Gangus was the only one of the three tigers on the farm that had not been declawed.
A number of youngsters, including one of Dumstrey-Soos' children, witnessed the attack, said Constable Annie Linteau of the RCMP.
Nelson believed that Carlton's children, Dakota, aged 12, and Kodiak, aged 15, also saw her being mauled.
"We were obviously horrified, more horrified that the young kids saw it, that they were there and obviously our hearts are with them," Nelson said.
Regional coroner Bruce Chamberlayne said Dumstrey-Soos was taken to a hospital in the town of 100 Mile House after the attack but could not be revived.
The farm in the interior of British Columbia is called Siberian Magic. Carlton puts on exotic and magic shows and also sells services such as photos with the big cats.
The RCMP said all the animals remained secured on the premises, about 40km east of 100 Mile House. Among the animals at the farm are three tigers, a lion and a lemur.
After the incident, British Columbia Agricultural Minister Barry Penner said authorities would determine whether there is a need to change regulations that allow private citizens to keep exotic animals.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has called for legislation which would ban the practice.
Siberian Magic's Web site invites people to visit the Bridge Lake, British Columbia, facility to experience "the wonderful worlds of magic and exotic animals."
The farm is about 400km north east of Vancouver.
"Visit our animals up close and personal. Capture the memories and have your photo taken with our amazing Siberian tiger, Kisa, or our African lion, Sarmoti, as well as many other wonderful animals," it says.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS