A female volunteer who regularly feeds big cats was bitten and seriously injured by a tiger Thursday morning at Carole Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue sanctuary in Florida, which was made famous by the Netflix series “Tiger King,” officials said.
In this 2018 photo provided by Big Cat Rescue, volunteer Candy Couser smiles before feeding big cats at Carole Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue sanctuary near Tampa, Fla. Couser, who regularly feeds big cats was bitten and seriously injured by a tiger Thursday morning, Dec. 3, 2020, at the sanctuary, which was made famous by the Netflix series “Tiger King,” officials said.
(Big Cat Rescue via AP) (Big Cat Rescue)“This is our universal signal NOT to open a gate” without assistance, Baskin said.
Couser was taken to a hospital for treatment of serious injuries after staff and other volunteers at Big Cat Rescue sought to stop the bleeding, Baskin said.
The incident came the same day the U.S. House is to vote on a bill, the Big Cat Public Safety Act, championed by Baskin that would ban handling of big cat cubs and personal possession of them in places such as backyards.