Malaysian Tiger Killed by Police in Florida After Grabbing Zoo Worker’s Arm

A Malaysian tiger in captivity was shot dead by a police officer on Wednesday evening after it refused to let go of a man's arm who attempted to play with it in a restricted area of a zoo in Florida, according to local media. The 20-year-old man, an employee of a cleaning company providing services at the zoo, sustained serious injuries that required hospital treatment. The man had entered the zoo on Wednesday evening "in a restricted area near a tiger," after the site had closed to the public, according to the Collier County Sheriff's Office, where the zoo is located in Naples. The man then reached his arm through a gap in the fence and was "playing with or feeding the animal" when he was attacked, according to initial police reports. After kicking the fence in an attempt to remove the animal, the first officer on the scene shot the tiger, resulting in the death of the male, 8-year-old tiger named "Iko," according to local press. The zoo announced on Thursday on its website the establishment of a unit to provide psychological support to staff in dealing with the state of "grief." The zoo's Facebook page was flooded with messages of support for the staff and sad comments from users expressing their regret over the "senseless" incident that resulted in the loss of a "wonderful tiger."