A tiger has ‘nearly torn off’ the arm of a volunteer at Carole Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue

A volunteer at Big Cat Rescue, the zoo owned by Tiger King star Carole Baskin, has been injured and had her arm “nearly torn off” by a tiger.

69-year-old Candy Crouser was injured on Thursday and has been receiving treatment in hospital since. She was said to have been feeding the three-year-old animal called Kimba, a male tiger rescued from Guatemala, when it bit her.

Crouser has been working at Big Cat Rescue with Carole Baskin for five years. Bystanders are said to have applied pressure and an ice-pack to the wound in a desperate attempt to save her arm. An ambulance arrived on scene within 20 minutes. A statement released by the zoo says “Kimba grabbed her arm and nearly tore it off at the shoulder” and adds that Crouser does not wish for the animal, which has now been placed in 30-day quarantine, to come to any harm as a result of the attack.

The statement added that Crouser broke protocols by putting her arm into the cage. “Candy said she just wasn’t thinking when she reached in to un-clip it [the door]”, it said.

The statement adds an update about the condition of the volunteer who was injured at the zoo owned by Carole Baskin. It says : “Candy’s husband reports that she is going into surgery soon.  She can move her fingers and her arm is broken in three places. Her shoulder is badly damaged though.  She is conscious but sedated and when the Florida Wildlife officers visited her they said she was able to tell them what happened, which is what she told our volunteers who responded to the scene. Kimba Tiger’s rabies and other vaccines are all up to date but he’s being kept on quarantine for 30 days anyway to keep an eye on him.”

Kimba was rescued by Big Cat Rescue after being part of a circus.

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Featured image via Instagram @carolebaskincat / Big Cat Rescue