A crocodile attacked a staff member at Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo on Sunday.
The worker, a man in his 40s, was treated at the scene before being transferred fully conscious to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem with serious injuries to his body and face.
A security guard opened fire on the crocodile, likely saving the worker’s life. The animal died of his wounds, the Biblical Zoo said on Facebook.
“They alerted me and I rode in on a motorcycle,” the guard, Nati Cohen, told Ynet. “I shot seven bullets at the crocodiles.”
Police opened an investigation into the incident.
The zoo was also probing the attack, which “at no point posed a danger to visitors.”
The Biblical Zoo has long played a vital role in public education and global conservation efforts. Last year, it celebrated the birth of a South African giraffe named Eli, marking a significant addition to its diverse animal family.
In 2022, the zoo partnered with the Athens Zoo to bring a two-year-old Sumatran tigress from Jakarta to Jerusalem. The initiative aimed to bolster conservation efforts for the endangered Sumatran tiger species, with plans to introduce a male tiger for breeding purposes.
Also in 2022, visitors to the Biblical Zoo were charmed by its red pandas, Yin and Yang, as they frolicked after a rare snowfall.
In 2018, the then-oldest hippopotamus living in captivity died in her sleep at Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo. Tami, 59, was found deceased in the lake of the Africa exhibit.
Last year, Time magazine highlighted the zoo in a profile of Jerusalem, which was named as one of the 50 most extraordinary travel destinations as part of the publication’s third annual list of the World’s Greatest Places.
Israel Hayom contributed to this report.
