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New video shows aftermath of tiger attack that nearly ripped off 18-year-old's arm

Roane Co. deputies and EMS responded to Tiger Haven last month after a tiger named Eeyore attacked an 18 year-old worker.

Cole Sullivan

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Published: 10:18 AM CST February 15, 2021
Updated: 6:49 PM CST February 15, 2021

A tiger attacked an 18-year-old girl and caused extensive injury to her right arm after she said she tripped and fell toward the animal's cage last month at Tiger Haven in Roane County, an incident report revealed. 

The young woman, who said she lived and worked at the big cat sanctuary, told wildlife officers she was changing the water of a tiger named Eeyore when she lost her footing in the mud and her hand went through a grate on the side of the cage. 

"He just grabbed my hands and yanked my arm in and kept moving up my arm and yanking me in and got me in as far as he can get me and kept pulling and pulling," she told Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency officers. 

The young woman recounted "screaming and screaming" for help until other workers arrived. The tiger, she said, pinned her up against the cage. 

Another employee said he jammed a stalk of bamboo into the animal's mouth, forcing it to release her arm, the report states. 

Her right arm was "de-gloved," the officers reported, meaning the skin and flesh had been pulled off during the attack. At the time of her TWRA interview a week later, it was not clear whether doctors would have to amputate. She has since been discharged from UT Medical Center, a spokesperson said. 

A representative for Tiger Haven referred multiple requests for comment to the sanctuary's attorney Sunday evening. He has not yet responded to 10News.  

The attorney who said he represented the victim said she was not doing well and has had five surgeries to try to keep her arm. Even if doctors don't need to amputate, he said, she may never regain use of it. 

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