Tragedy struck at the Hellbrunn Zoo in Salzburg, Austria, when a rhinoceros attacked a married couple who were working as zookeepers.
The 33-year-old German woman was assigned the task of applying insect repellent to the rhino’s body because rhinos are highly sensitive to insect bites.
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However, according to Austria’s APA news Grebner, the 30-year-old female rhino named Jeti attacked the keeper for an unclear reason.
The woman tragically died due to her injuries at the scene, despite efforts to resuscitate her.
Her 34-year-old Austrian husband, who was feeding other animals at the time, rushed to her aid and was also attacked.
He suffered a fractured leg and was taken to the hospital. The names of the zookeepers were not disclosed due to privacy rules.
Both zookeepers were experienced in their roles, with the man working at the zoo since 2008 and his wife since 2014.
The zoo director said the woman was known to be “very careful and thoughtful with the animals, and she had an extremely food sense” when dealing with them.
“Maybe there was some kind of irritation,” she said. “We are deeply upset and shocked.”
The exact circumstances leading to the attack remain under investigation.
This marked the first incident at the rhino enclosure, which had been in operation for nearly three decades.
Police are now investigating the attack, and the zoo temporarily closed its doors to the public following the incident.
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