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Woman killed by pack of wolves in Swedish zoo

Published: 17 Jun 12 15:04 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/41496/20120617/

A female employee of the Kolmården zoo in central Sweden was mauled to death in the wolf enclosure on Sunday morning.

A crisis group assembled to provide support for Kolmården’s employees, and the woman's relatives have been notified, reported news agency TT.

The incident occurred just after 11am on Sunday morning. According to eye-witness reports, the woman went into the enclosure, was surrounded and then attacked, wrote the Aftonbladet newspaper.

Emergency services were alerted at 11.11am, and were initially unable to approach the woman.

“You can’t just go in to a pack of wolves. Police and ambulance staff couldn’t get close to the victim until later,” said Norrköping’s emergency services coordinator Jan Tengeborg to the newspaper.

According to Aftonbladet, emergency services are currently attempting to sedate the other wolves nearby.

“It’s very unusual for something like this to happen, but it has happened before," Olof Liberg, wolf expert at Sweden’s University of Agricultural Sciences (Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, SLU) said to TT.

“Zoo animals aren’t afraid of humans and accidents can happen,” he continued.

Liberg has yet to familiarize himself with this specific case, but said that accidents like this one often occur because of a breach in routine, and notes that wolves are especially dangerous when a zookeeper goes in alone.

TT/Clara Guibourg (news@thelocal.se)

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17:24 June 17, 2012 by jimmyjames
well, this is what happens when a bunch of moronic humans trys to keep a wolf pack in the same circumstances as a dog or a kitty kat. unfortunately, now the wolves will have to lose their lives because of ignorant humans. We are toled humans are at the apex of the animal kingdom (of coarse it is humans saying that) however we show time and again that we are the DUMBEST !!!! Show me any other mammel that would freely get into a cage with a pack of wolves !!!!! Every other mammel on earth has the inbreed instincts to leave wolves the HELL ALONE BECAUSE THEIR BASIC PRIMARY PROGRAM IS TO HUNT AND KILL AND EAT !!!! They do not give a damn about your touchy, feely, I'm OK - Your OK crap !!!

I feel sorry for the wolves that will be "put dowm" ( polite feel good term for those humans who can't stand to say KILL, MURDER, EXECUTE, ECT. but be sure the humans WILL exact their revenge...........don't we always ???
17:52 June 17, 2012 by Playmaker
could not get to the womes because she was surrounded. well does anyone have a f#cking gun. that works everytime. everytime bullets win
17:55 June 17, 2012 by J Jack
The wolves can't be put down. Maybe the troublemaker that the pack followed. Should never have allowed a lone keeper in. Dogs have a pack mentality, they don't discriminate for a single potential threat. They will bite the hand that feeds them.
18:54 June 17, 2012 by Frobobbles
But how did the wolves know it was a woman?
20:38 June 17, 2012 by Flutterbye
When oh when will stupid humans learn, to go into a pen with wolves is complete madness.

They are pack animals and excellent hunters, you only have to own two domestic dogs to know they behave differently to when you own one dog, they gang up together

I really hope these wolves are not killed, they were only doing what come naturally, its not their fault what happened.
21:26 June 17, 2012 by hjoian
Fatel move by the keeper......should have known better. Whats wrong with the police here? Someone being mauled and they stand by and watch?? Most animals will retreat at the sound of gunfire,they could have fired a few shots in the air at least,but maybe too much paperwork to fill out after? Sad really.
22:33 June 17, 2012 by Snöregn
Sorry to hear about the death. But you do not enter into a pack of wolves without a serious weapon. Nor keep a pack of wolves without a weapon to protect humans in trouble.
22:57 June 17, 2012 by strixy
why keep them in captivity?
01:09 June 18, 2012 by alecLoTh
Humans are the only species who will cut down trees, process them in chemicals which ruin the rivers, only to print "save the trees" on them
08:45 June 18, 2012 by fakeempire
This is extremely sad. It goes to show how much we "trust" that animals wont do anything?? Oh, as long as I am nice, right? A zoo keeper should always carry around some sort of protection against CARNIVOROUS animals. An air horn, pepper spray, a tranquilizer gun, is it so hard to carry something like this on your belt?

Wolves are NOT dogs.
12:04 June 18, 2012 by Twiceshy
fakeempire do you really think it's a good idea to use any of those items to further scare a pack of predators?

If they want to hunt you they will hunt you, at that point you're screwed already...
16:22 June 21, 2012 by Nvd
Sleeping gas could have helped.

Touching bare electric wires is not OK.

Trusting a pack of wolves is OK!
11:36 June 29, 2012 by scottidee
Wolves are savage KILLING machines people ! No more animal sensitivity excuses . Wolves are to be treated as loaded guns ESPECIALLY in packs.

Sadly, however, wolves have kiled more people in N. America both in the wild and from within protected bio reserves due to politically correct nature cowards who value animals higher than humans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_attacks_on_humans

We neither JOG alone in wolf inhabited areas nor do we enter the enclosures of

savage beasts WITHOUT first securing each animal and protecting the defenseless human beging.

ANOTHER HORRIBLE LOSS
21:47 June 30, 2012 by james_g
Just as a matter of interest - can we compare the number of humans killed per year by wolves (in packs) with the number killed by dogs (often solo)? Don't get me wrong, I like dogs in the main - but there are some breeds that are bred or trained or both to be a damn sight more aggressive than the average wolf! And dogs that are left to run wild often hunt in packs too...
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