A 1.8 ton rhinoceroses attacked 2 married zookeepers in Austria, killing a woman and injuring her husband
AP Photo
- A rhino killed a zookeeper in Austria during a routine interaction, zoo officials said.
- A 33-year-old female zookeeper was killed and her husband, who is also a zookeeper, was injured.
- Zoo officials said it is still unclear why Jeti, the 30-year-old rhino, lashed out at her handlers.
A rhinoceros at an Austrian zoo attacked two of its keepers on Tuesday, killing one and severely injuring the other, zoo officials said.
The incident took place at Hellbrunn Zoo in the Austrian city of Salzburg. The two zookeepers were a married couple, according to media reports.
Zoo director Sabine Grebner told reporters that a 30-year-old rhino named Jeti lashed out during a routine interaction; the keeper was attempting to apply insect repellant on the rhino's body to ward off bug bites, the Associated Press reported.
It wasn't immediately clear why Jeti attacked her keeper, Grebner said.
"Maybe there was some kind of irritation," Grebner told reporters. "We are deeply upset and shocked."
The zoo identified the keeper who was killed as a 33-year-old German woman from Bavaria. Austria's APA news agency reported that the woman suffered severe chest trauma and died at the scene of the attack.
The woman's husband, who is also a zookeeper, was feeding other animals at the time and tried to chase Jeti away from his wife after the initial attack, The AP reported. He is now being hospitalized with a fractured leg, according to reports.
Grebner said the female zoo keeper had worked at Hellbrunn since 2014 and was known to be "very careful and thoughtful" in her dealings with animals, according to news reports.
The woman's husband has worked at the zoo since 2008. Both he and his wife were trained animal keepers, The AP reported, citing the zoo.
Jeti weighs 1.8 tons and has lived at the zoo since 2009, Grebner said. There have been no previous incidents at the zoo's rhino enclosure, which has existed for nearly 30 years, she added.
The zoo closed on Tuesday following the incident and will remain closed on Wednesday, according to its website.
A spokesperson for the zoo did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
In 2017, a 33-year-old zookeeper was killed by a tiger at Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire.