Zookeeper dies days after she was mauled inside leopard enclosure in Dutch wildlife park

A keeper at a Dutch zoo has died days after being mauled by a leopard, the safari park announced on Tuesday.

The woman, who has not been named but was in her fifties, was attacked while caring for two Persian leopards at Safaripark Beekse Bergen in Hilvarenbeek on Saturday morning.

It is unclear exactly what happened as there are no cameras inside the enclosure. The animals were being kept indoors because of bad weather and staff are normally separated from the predators.

Colleagues reportedly found the woman after hearing her cry out for help over her walkie-talkie.

She was airlifted to hospital with severe head and neck injuries and underwent emergency surgery, but died on Tuesday.

'The keeper started at the Beekse Bergen Safari Park at the age of 17 and worked here, with only a few short interruptions, for nearly 40 years,' the zoo said in a statement.

An independent investigation will be launched to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

A park spokesperson told Omroep Brabant that the leopards had been behaving naturally.

'They are, and remain, predators.'

The zoo houses two male Persian leopards, which were being kept indoors due to Storm Austen. It remains unclear which animal was involved in the attack.

Martin van Hees, head of animal care at the park, said the leopard would not be put down.

'We are not going to do anything with the leopard. It just sat in its enclosure and did what it did. The animal cannot help it.

'In principle, humans and animals are kept separated. In this case, however, something happened differently than it should have.

'She entered the enclosure while the leopards could also access it, and as a result she was caught.'

A spokesperson for the wildlife park added: 'We are naturally deeply saddened by this news and are doing everything we can to support her family, colleagues and loved ones.'