A Gold Coast tiger handler was mauled while she was walking the animal at Dreamworld on Monday morning, suffering “serious lacerations and puncture wounds”, emergency services have revealed.
The Queensland Ambulance Service was called to Dreamworld shortly after 9am “following an incident involving a tiger”. There, paramedics treated a 47-year-old woman before taking her to Gold Coast University Hospital.
QAS acting district director Justin Payne said the handler was in a stable condition, with “serious lacerations and puncture wounds” to her arm.
Dreamworld’s tigers at the theme park’s Tiger Island.
Payne said the handler had been walking the tiger along with another handler, as they worked in pairs, and it had been taken back to a holding cell by the time the advanced care paramedic crew was at the scene.
“Thankfully, on [the paramedics’] arrival, the bleeding had been managed very well by first aid providers there at Dreamworld, which was excellent to see,” he said.
“She was quite pale and feeling unwell, but generally well and was able to be transported to hospital.”
Payne said the circumstances of the incident had not been provided to the attending ambulance crew.
“We don’t know how long she’s been working there, but she is one of the experienced and senior handlers there at Dreamworld and we believe she was well-trained.”
A Dreamworld spokesperson confirmed the victim was trained in handling tigers.