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Oklahoma Tiger Handler Fatally Attacked During Show

Incident Date:
09/23/2025
Location:
Hugo, OK - USA
Facility Name:
Growler Pines Tiger Preserve
Facility Type:
Non-accredited Facility (RSZ)
Incident Category:
Escape/Attack resulting in human death (HD)
Species:
Big Cats
Animal:
Tiger
Animal disposition:
Other

Summary:

HUGO, OK – A tiger handler was fatally mauled and died in Oklahoma recently as horrified onlookers – including his wife and daughter – watched during the end of a big cat show, local officials said Monday.

Ryan Easley, 37, was dead when deputies arrived on Saturday at the Growler Pines Tiger Preserve near Hugo, not far from the Texas border, just minutes after dispatchers received an emergency call, said the Choctaw county sheriff, Terry Park. Park said the tiger unexpectedly started to bite and then shake Easley while the two were inside of a large cage.

“It was a big tiger,” Park told the Associated Press. “This particular one – he’d had for quite some time.” All tours have been canceled until further notice, the statement said. A certificate of veterinary inspection provided to the AP by Humane World shows two 11-month-old tigers obtained by Easley in 2012 came from the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, which was owned and operated by Joe Exotic, the subject of the television show Tiger King.

Action take by Born Free USA:

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