Zookeeper hurt in tiger attack back to work at Kansas zoo

TOPEKA, Kan. – A zookeeper who spent two months recovering from a tiger attack at a Kansas zoo is now back to work.

Topeka zoo director Brenden Wiley told KSNT-TV that Hayden-Ortega returned to work Tuesday.

She was seriously injured in the April 20 attack by a 7-year-old Sumatran tiger named Sanjiv.

The zoo released a lengthy report last month that said “multiple” protocols and procedures concerning spaces occupied by tigers had prevented any similar attack at the zoo for decades. Its report says protocol was not followed when the keeper entered the tiger’s outdoor habitat without ensuring that the animal was locked inside.

Other zoo employees lured the animal away with meat so emergency responders could treat Hayden-Ortega.

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Information from: KSNT-TV.