THE family of a Scottish animal keeper mauled to death by a tiger in an enclosure have admitted it may take some time to establish exactly how she came to be attacked.
Sarah McClay's death has baffled the owner of the South Lakes Wild Animal Park, in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, where she died on Friday after being attacked by a Sumatran tiger.
Ms McClay was taken by air ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital after the attack but later died from her injuries.
The 24-year-old, who is originally from Glasgow, was killed despite strict controls on workers at the tourist attraction being left alone with the animal.
Police are examining procedures at the zoo, where the tiger's cage is accessible through lockable doors. The owner has already said Ms McClay died after making a mistake.
Posting on the wildlife keeper's Facebook page, her partner David Ross Shaw issued a message on behalf of her family.
Mr Shaw, who lives in Barrow, Cumbria, said: "We would like to take this opportunity to thank the valiant efforts of Cumbria Ambulance Service, the North West Air Ambulance and the Royal Preston Hospital. Investigations are ongoing and it may be some time before a full picture emerges of what happened and how."
Writing in the post, Mr Shaw said he and the McClay family were still coming to terms with the tragedy.
He added: "We believe that, should Sarah have had the chance to plan this, she would have wanted to be able to continue to support her greatest passion: red squirrel conservation.
"With this in mind, should you wish to contribute to Sarah's Memorial, a donations page has been set up which ensures your money will reach conservation efforts that Sarah was involved in."
A link is then provided for a Just Giving charity page that has already raised more than £1400 from well-wishers.
Sarah was a founding member and secretary of the recently formed South Lakes Red Squirrel Group, which will be the recipient of the donations.
Speaking about her death, David Gill, the founder and owner of South Lakes Wild Animal Park, said that Sarah died "from her own tragic mistake".
He said: "We have made a statement that, from the investigations that have taken place, it is clear this tragedy was caused by a sad error of judgment and breach of protocol – in essence, keeper error.
"This is not blame, it is not anything but defining the facts as they appear.
"This does not mean Sarah killed herself on purpose it means simply she died from her own tragic mistake."
Cumbria Police said a complex system of gates at the enclosure meant the animals and their keepers should remain separated at all times – but on this occasion the system failed, with fatal consequences.
The enclosure concerned consists of a number of compartments, both indoor and outdoor, connected by lockable doors.
Keepers are required to enter various parts of the enclosures in the course of their routine duties. Detectives are now trying to establish whether the circumstances that led to Ms McClay being vulnerable to attack were the result of a technical fault or human error.
Police said the tiger was locked in its enclosure following the attack and members of the public were not at any risk during the incident.
Mr Gill added: "My thoughts are purely with Sarah's family and friends and very much with my staff, who have been ripped apart in the past three weeks by the untimely deaths of two of our young female staff."
Earlier this month, a colleague at the park was killed in a road accident.
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