By Le Figaro with AFP
Published
7 hours ago,
Update 2 hours ago
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The victim, whose vital prognosis is no longer in jeopardy, had gone for a jog and entered the wolf enclosure.
A 37-year-old woman was seriously injured on Sunday after being bitten by wolves at the Thoiry zoo (Yvelines) in a reserve prohibited to pedestrians, a “accident” whose “circumstances” are the subject of investigations by the zoo and the courts. Sunday around 9 a.m., the victim, who had spent the night with family in a hotel accommodation in the park, went for a jog, according to initial elements of the investigation.
This thirty-year-old, “who resided in the lounge (within the park, editor’s note), crossed the American reserve on foot”a stockpile “which is only accessible by car”reported to AFP the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wow Safari Thoiry, Christelle Bercheny.
The victim was then attacked by three wolves. She was injured “neck, calf and back” according to a source close to the matter, confirming information from Le Parisien.
“Rules of Survival”
Christelle Bercheny clarified that the injured woman was “conscious and stable” when she left the park. Earlier in the day, Versailles public prosecutor Maryvonne Caillibotte told AFP that she had been taken to hospital in absolute emergency. At the end of Sunday afternoon, his vital prognosis was no longer in jeopardy, AFP learned from a source close to the matter.
In this area, “vehicles can enter and exit and there are electrified plates which limit animal exit access”but these plates “do not intervene on human beings”, explained the director. She added that signs located outside this area reminded “the rules of survival” to follow in the park.
“We are in the process of analyzing all the circumstances which could have led to this accident”she concluded, specifying that an internal investigation was open and that she was at this stage not in possession “of no element” concerning a possible technical or human failure. “I am not able to say if it was she who made a mistake or if the marking was not well done”for her part explained the prosecutor.
By mid-afternoon, it had not “no clear understanding yet of how she ended up in these places”. In the moment, “the caregivers were able to intervene very quickly to rescue her and provide first aid”assured Christelle Bercheny to AFP.
“Completely closed” reserve
The three wolves which had attacked the victim were temporarily isolated to allow the woman to be rescued before returning to their place in the reserve, which was “completely closed” during the intervention, she continued. “The behavior of animals in reserves is the behavior of animals in freedom or semi-freedom”further clarified the director of the zoo group to explain the animals’ reaction to human intrusion.
An investigation was opened into unintentional injuries and was entrusted to the Mantes-la-Jolie Research Brigade. The Thoiry zoo was created in 1968 by the Count of La Panouse who
