ROANE COUNTY, Tenn. — A Tiger Haven employee is recovering in the hospital after a tiger badly bit her arm Monday morning. On Wednesday, Roane County E911 released logs and the initial call for help it had received that morning, which provide new details into what happened.
The first call came in to the 911 center around 9 a.m. on Monday, January 25. The woman on the other end of the line remained calm but spoke with urgency, saying she didn't see what happened but said someone screamed over the radio to call an ambulance for a badly injured employee.
"Somebody got grabbed by one of the tigers," she said. "She's injured badly. Please hurry."
The dispatch logs show EMS teams and deputies rushed to Tiger Haven. When 911 called the woman back for an update, she said the worker's "arm isn't good."
The woman told dispatchers they had taken the employee out of the tiger lot, and she was alert. The tiger remained pinned up in its enclosure.
As EMS and Roane County deputies hurried to the scene, dispatchers checked to see if a UT LIFESTAR helicopter would be needed. Roane County EMS did not request one, but dispatchers were told it wouldn't have been possible to fly due to Monday's bad weather. The helicopters were stuck on the ground until conditions could clear.
Deputies arrived to Tiger Haven roughly 20 minutes after being dispatched. Someone applied a tourniquet to the woman's arm to stop the bleeding. EMS crews arrived a few minutes after and took the worker to UT Medical Center.
The woman's condition and the severity of her injury is unknown.
Tiger Haven describes itself as a sanctuary and rescue facility for big cats and does not breed the cats. It opened in 1991.
According to its website, Tiger Haven is currently home to 265 big cats, including tigers, lions, leopards, cougars and jaguars. They also house 11 smaller cat species, which include serval, caracal, bobcat, and lynx.
Tiger Haven is licensed by the state to legally keep the animals.