Today I woke up to this tragic news from Wildcat Haven in
Oregon -- the sanctuary where Mac (now deceased) and Shirley, plus Carrie and
Sebastian went in 2010.
Worker killed by wildcat at Oregon
sanctuary
Published November 10, 2013
FoxNews.com
A worker at an Oregon wildcat sanctuary
has died after she was bitten by one of the animals Saturday night.
Local fire and rescue officials said the
woman, whose identity has not been released, was in the WildCat Haven sanctuary
in Sherwood, Ore. when she was bitten just before 7 p.m. local time. KPTV.com
reported that fire crews have had difficulty reaching the woman's body due to
the number of big cats loose within the sanctuary.
OregonLive.com reported that Tualatin
Fire & Rescue had identified the victim as a 35-year-old woman.
According to its website, WildCat Haven
is home to more than 60 neglected, abandoned, and abused wildcats born into
captivity. Among the types of cats housed there are tigers, bobcats, cougars,
and lynx. It is not open to the public, however, it does offer occasional tours
to donors.
"We are not a zoo for people but a
safe haven for the animals in our care," the website states. The facility
has been in operation since 2001.
It was not immediately clear which type
of cat killed the worker.
Sherwood is located in the Tualatin
Valley, southwest of Portland.
So far no announcement has been made today regarding the cat that killed
the woman. However on Twitter, the follow statement was made by:
Just CONFIRMED the animal in yesterday's
deadly attack at the WildCat Haven near Sherwood was a COUGAR. #liveonK2
This story was just posted a few moments ago on the web:
Servals (African wildcats) at the WildCat Haven Sanctuary in
Sherwood. (Jacques Von Lunen/Special to The Oregonian (2009))
|
Wildcat Haven Sanctuary worker who died may
have violated safety protocols
The employee killed at WildCat Haven Sanctuary may have violated safety protocols, according to a statement from the organization.
Renee
Radziwon-Chapman had been the head keeper for eight years at the sanctuary
south of Sherwood, which rescues big cats.
“Right
now, our thoughts and prayers are with the family of our dear colleague and
friend who we have so sadly lost,” said WildCat Haven’s Executive Director
Cheryl Tuller. “We are devastated by this loss.”
According
to the statement, the sanctuary has strict safety protocols for its workers and
volunteers.
 |
| In this 2003 photo, Cheryl Tuller, executive director of WildCat Haven Sanctuary in Sherwood, holds a 5-month-old cougar. The sanctuary rescues captive-born wild cats |
The
sanctuary’s handbook specifies that, ‘two qualified staff members shall work
together during the lock out of dangerous animals. Once the animals are locked
out, one staff member can safely enter the enclosure to clean or make repairs.
Two qualified staff members shall be available when releasing animals from
lockout areas,’ according to the statement.
“At
this time, it is believed that Radziwon-Chapman was alone at the sanctuary and
alone in the enclosure with cats, who had not been shifted into the lockout
area. Investigation is ongoing.” according to the statement.
No cats
escaped from the enclosures, which are surrounded by 14-foot tall walls of
six-gauge wire, with secure ceilings, lockout areas and double-door entries.
Larger enclosures are also surrounded by four-foot concrete walkways.
“The
enclosures exceed what is required by the U.S Department of Agriculture, which
inspects the facility yearly,” according to the statement.
Jim
Caliva started as a skeptic on his first visit to the sanctuary near Sherwood
nearly a decade ago.
Now, he
is one of the sanctuary board members and a long-time volunteer.
Caliva
said he knew Radziwon-Chapman.
“She
was one of the best people I’ve ever met,” he said. “Something happened that
shouldn’t have. I love her dearly.”
According
to the sanctuary’s website, Radziwon-Chapman, a veterinary technician, was the
sanctuary’s first employee hired in 2009. Her husband, Aaron Chapman, had
volunteered at the facility as well. Commenters on her Facebook page sent
condolences and love to her husband and baby.
Little
information was available Sunday, Nov. 10, as to what specifically happened at
the sanctuary that allowed one or more of the cats to attack Radziwon-Chapman.
Clackamas County Medical Examiners Office said only that she died as the result
of injuries consistent with that of a wild animal. The Clackamas County
Sheriff’s office did not return several pages.
Cheryl
and Michael Tuller opened the sanctuary in 2001. It sits on about eight acres
of heavily wooded hillside south of Sherwood, but the Tullers have plans to
move to an 82-acre near Scotts Mills in rural Marion County.
The
sanctuary has rescued more than 60 captive-born wild cats ranging from tigers
to bobcats from homes in which they were abused or where the owners were simply
not prepared to care for the big cats.
Caliva
said one of the rescued cougars came in missing teeth because the owner had
knocked them out with a hammer so it wouldn’t bite his son. The owner of
another cougar botched a declawing and crippled the animal.
Earl
Weber lives about 400 feet from the sanctuary and visited it shortly after it
opened.
“They
didn’t seem to me to be reckless,” Weber said. “They were conscious of
potential danger.”
Weber
said he wasn’t concerned about his own safety until the accident.
“Obviously,
they didn’t have something in place,” he said, While at least one neighbor
told television stations he can hear the animals growling and roaring at night,
Weber said he occasionally hears a high-pitched cry of a cat.
Weber
said he doesn’t know of any animals that have escaped. “I would imagine I would
have heard about it.”
The
sanctuary is funded through donations. It does not buy or sell animals and is
not open to the public.
--
Wendy Owen
By Wendy Owen | wowen@oregonian.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on
November 10, 2013 at 3:39 PM, updated November 10, 2013 at 4:35 PM
What I find odd is that GFAS (this organization "verified" this sanctuary) and the WCH have not come out and said which cat attacked the woman and the current condition of the animal. Often times animals are the ones to pay for the stupidity of humans. I just hope this is not one of those times.
http://www.kgw.com/news/One-person-dead-at-large-animal-sancuatry-231320201.html
WildCat Haven Sanctuary death: owner arrived home to find Renee Radziwon-Chapman fatally wounded, report says
Renee Radziwon-Chapman, the WildCat Haven Sanctuary employee killed in a cougar attack, was apparently cleaning a cage alone before she was attacked on Saturday, Nov. 9, according to a police report from the incident that was released Monday.
An owner of the sanctuary, Michael Tuller, and his wife were not at the location when the attack occurred, the police report says. Tuller arrived home at the sanctuary to find Radziwon-Chapman, 36, lying inside a cage, the report says. Radziwon-Chapman was an animal care technician.
Tuller and his wife, Cheryl, are co-founders of WildCat, and opened the facility in 2001.
Clackamas County sheriff’s deputies and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue crews received a call at about 6:50 p.m. to the sanctuary, located at 31369 S.W. Heater Road, outside Sherwood. Deputies were dispatched to the incident at about 6:54 p.m., according to the police report.
A deputy arrived at the scene at 7:19 p.m., and met a sergeant who was already on scene with fire crews. The sergeant told the deputy that there were several large cats on the property and that emergency responders were working on a plan to get to Radziwon-Chapman, the police report says.
Michael Tuller, who is an owner of the sanctuary and listed as the company president in state records, had called 911 to report one of his keepers, later identified as Radziwon-Chapman, was attacked by a cougar, according to the report. He told authorities that he had pulled Radziwon-Chapman from a cage and into another. He said she appeared to be dead.
Tuller led deputies and firefighters through the sanctuary’s main entrance and to Radziwon-Chapman, the report says. She was lying on her back, behind a field fence. Blood covered the ground. She wasn’t moving and part of her scalp was torn off, the report says.
A deputy noticed more blood inside the fence and what looked to be Radziwon-Chapman’s tooth. One cougar was “walking freely inside the main area” and a second was inside a 15-foot-by-15-foot cage, the report says. The cougar walking freely, according to the report, had a little blood above its nose.
Firefighters pronounced Radziwon-Chapman dead at the scene, the report says. They covered her body with a yellow blanket while authorities continued to investigate.
Deputies and fire crews left the area near Radziwon-Chapman's body for safety reasons. Once outside the area, deputies began to speak to Tuller, who was “extremely upset and distraught,” according to the report.
Tuller told a deputy, “this should have never happened,” the report says, and that “they always go into the cages in pairs.” He went on to tell deputies that Saturday was “not a normal day.”
He and his wife were at his other sanctuary in Scotts Mills, he told authorities. Tuller arrived at the Sherwood sanctuary between 6:30-7 p.m., the report says, and noticed that Radziwon-Chapman was still at the location. She should have left by 5:30 p.m., he said.
Tuller told deputies that he walked down to the cage and found Radziwon-Chapman inside an open area. She was lying on her back, her feet pointed toward the exit. She reportedly was about 10 feet from the cage’s door.
Tuller went inside, grabbed Radziwon-Chapman by her boots and pulled her out to the sanctuary’s enclosed entrance, he told deputies. He closed the door and called 911.
Tuller told deputies it appeared as if Radziwon-Chapman was cleaning the cage.
Deputies notified the Clackamas County Medical Examiner’s Office. Together, a medical examiner, two sheriff’s sergeants and Tuller removed Radziwon-Chapman's body from the cage, the report says.
The medical examiner asked Tuller if something could have caused the attack. Tuller told authorities that Radziwon-Chapman should not have brought a hose inside the cage.
Portland police notified Radziwon-Chapman’s husband of her death. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office notified Oregon OSHA of the incident. According to the police report, OSHA investigators did not respond to the scene.
Sheriff's office investigators remained on scene until about 10:45 p.m.
Dane Johnson, an attorney for the cat sanctuary released a statement Nov. 10 saying it appeared that Radziwon-Chapman was alone in an enclosure with cats that were not properly secured. The sanctuary's handbook calls for "two qualified staff members" working to secure the animals before entering the enclosure to clear or make repairs, the statement said.
Radziwon-Chapman is the only staff member listed on WildCat Haven's website. She was the sanctuary's head keeper for eight years and a certified vet technician, the attorney's statement said.
Radziwon-Chapman's mother told The Oregonian that her daughter followed protocol and that two days before her death she expressed concerns about her safety at the sanctuary to Cheryl Tuller, the organization's executive director and co-founder.
"She was worried," said Carol Radziwon. "She expressed her fears to Cheryl. She said, 'I don't want to be left alone.'"
Radziwon-Chapman lived in Portland with her husband and young daughter.
Oregonian staff writers Everton Bailey Jr., Noelle Crombie and Lynne Terry contributed to this report.
-- Rebecca Woolington
By Rebecca Woolington | rwoolington@oregonian.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on November 11, 2013 at 2:40 PM, updated November 11, 2013 at 4:17 PM
on November 11, 2013 at 2:40 PM, updated November 11, 2013 at 4:17 PM
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