A vulnerable man in his early 20s has been identified after climbing into a Siberian tiger’s enclosure at a northern England wildlife park and dying in the attack, witnesses say.

NY Post reporting identified the victim as William Chapman, who came alone on Saturday to Yorkshire Wildlife Park and later entered the habitat of a fully grown Siberian tiger.

Chapman was pronounced dead at the scene after paramedics scrambled just after 1:30 p.m. local time. Park workers fired warning shots, visitors were cleared out, and the animal was left alive in the days that followed.

Authorities and witnesses described a breach of the fence, a short and violent encounter inside the enclosure, and a park left dealing with the aftermath. Absolute calendar dates were not laid out in the initial accounts, only the sequence from Saturday through Tuesday.

Chapman filmed inside before the tiger lunged

Chapman was described as a vulnerable man in his early 20s. He arrived at the park by himself. A visitor who spoke later said he had been “dancing erratically” earlier in the day.

He climbed over the fence into the tiger’s enclosure and recorded footage from inside. In that video, the 420-pound predator, named Alta or Altai in differing spellings, was lying on a wooden platform.

As the attack unfolded, Chapman yelled “no” and “stop” again and again. A witness said the tiger lunged, and another account said you could see blood as the animal began dragging the man by the neck.

"He overpowered her and jumped."

That was how one visitor described Chapman getting past a mother who tried to stop him at the fence. She was at the park with her children and grabbed at him as he went over. She could not hold him.

The same witness spoke with her afterward and relayed her words.

"She seemed really frightened. We spoke to her after and she was like, 'I tried to pull him back,' but I guess she didn't want to risk her own life as well."

Warning shots, black screens, and a closed park

Park workers answered with two warning shots into the air from a shotgun. Paramedics reached the zoo just after 1:30 p.m. local time. Chapman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Staff evacuated the grounds. Black screens went up around the body. On Sunday the park stayed closed, and traumatized workers received specialist support.

Police said Chapman had come alone on Saturday. His identity as William Chapman was reported on Tuesday, along with the detail that he had filmed himself inside the enclosure before the fatal mauling.

Park says the tiger stays alive

On Monday, park authorities said Altai was “safe and well” and confirmed the tiger would not be euthanized after the attack. The animal had done what a large carnivore does when a person enters its space and closes the distance.

No charges, arrests, or full medical wording beyond death at the scene appeared in the initial reporting. No other visitor or staff injuries were detailed. Motive was not stated.

Fences, platforms, and shotgun protocols exist because a Siberian tiger is not a prop. When someone forces the barrier anyway, the cost lands on the person who climbed, the strangers who tried to stop him, and the workers left to clean up the scene.