Dutch zookeeper dies after being attacked by leopard

A zookeeper has died from her injuries days after she was attacked by a leopard at the Dutch safari park where she worked.

The unnamed employee, who had worked at the Beekse Bergen safari park for almost four decades, was attacked by the animal on Saturday and died on Tuesday.

"With enormous sadness, we have to report that the animal caretaker of safari park Beekse Bergen passed away today from the injuries she sustained on Saturday, October 24, in an incident with a leopard in the park," the park said in a statement Tuesday.

"Her passing also deeply affects us all, and we are intensely grieving with her family, friends and loved ones. We ask for peace and privacy for her loved ones and our staff, so that they can process this profound loss," the statement added.

The woman suffered serious wounds to her head and neck while working in an enclosure with two male Persian leopards, the Associated Press reported.

The woman contacted colleagues via a walkie talkie after the incident in the leopard's enclosure and an ambulance and trauma helicopter were dispatched at around 11 a.m. local time Saturday, AP added. She underwent emergency surgery but her condition worsened on Sunday evening.

The employee joined the park, located in the southern Netherlands, when she was 17 years old and had worked there "with short breaks for almost 40 years," the park's statement added.

CNN affiliate NOS reported that the zookeeper had been working with the leopards for eight years and had been working alone in the enclosure with two male Persian leopards when she was attacked.

There are no cameras inside the enclosure, the park told NOS, which also reported that the animals have been treated as normal since the incident.

The park said that an independent investigation had been launched into the woman's death.

Home to more than 100 species of animals, Beekse Bergen offers visitors the choice of seeing the safari park by foot, car, bus and boat.

This is not the first time a member of staff at a zoo or safari park has been fatally injured by an animal.

In 2023, a zookeeper was killed in Austria after being attacked by a rhino. The incident, in which another zookeeper was injured, occurred at Salzburg Hellbrunn Zoo. Two years prior to that, a woman working at a safari park in Chile was killed by a tiger while working in the big cats' enclosure.

CNN's Rose Roobeek contributed to this report.