Hilvarenbeek park confirms this later reporting by Omroep Brabant. A spokesperson says the boys’ class went on a walking safari. The three students then deviated from the safari and stumbled upon a staff path. “Although there are signs in several languages, including German, it is indicated that this is not allowed. The service path has also been structured differently to make the distinction.”
On the cheetah list
The Germans then ended up on the car safari route, after which they continued towards the cheetah enclosure. “To get there you have to go past the cheetah grid, where you normally only drive by car. That’s a six meter wide grid with current on it with very large holes in the middle. You don’t feel the current if you walk on it in your shoes.”
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According to the spokesperson, there were also warning signs on the cheetah grid. When the boys saw the cheetahs, they started running. “The animals reacted. One of the boys was grabbed by a cheetah.”
deed of valor
A zookeeper saw it all happen and saved the boy from the predator’s grasp. “That caregiver performed a heroic deed. The person was very shocked but well received by colleagues,” says the spokesperson.
The boy was taken to the hospital after the bite. Shortly after the young tourist was allowed to return home, circumstances are doing well. The same goes for the cheetah. The other two students were left unharmed.
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The park is studying whether “more” measures should be taken to prevent these kinds of events in the future.
French family
This isn’t the first time a park visitor has been attacked. In 2018, things almost went wrong when a French family got out of their car in the cheetah enclosure. A video shows them parking their car next to the sunbathing cheetahs and going out to take some photos. A small child also comes to take a look around the corner. Not much happens at that point.
Moments later, when the family is a little further away, things almost go wrong. The family members moved further away from the car as the cheetahs approached them. And this just ended well, look:
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