Tiger shot in Florida zoo attack came from Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo

A Malayan tiger, once a resident at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, was shot by a sheriff's deputy at a Florida zoo after seriously injuring a man who was "either feeding or petting" the animal, authorities say.   

The Collier County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post that the deputy was "forced" to shoot the tiger — an 8-year-old named Eko — when the animal latched on to the man, who had stuck his arm into an enclosure at the Naples Zoo.

"The first deputy on scene kicked the enclosure and tried to get the tiger to release the man's arm from its mouth," the post said. "But the deputy was forced to shoot the animal."

Authorities say preliminary information suggests the man bypassed outer fencing around the exhibit to approach the tiger. After the man stuck his arm into the enclosure, authorities say the tiger "grabbed the man's arm and pulled it into the enclosure." 

Authorities say the man was seriously injured and was transported to an area hospital.  

The post says that the man, who is in his early 20s, was a member of a third-party cleaning service. The cleaning company is not responsible for the maintenance of any animal exhibit and only cleans restrooms and gift shops, the post said. 

Deputies arrived on scene at the zoo at 6:26 p.m. local time on Wednesday night after the zoo had closed for the evening. The zoo will remain closed on Thursday. Zoo officials say they're launching their own internal investigation into the incident.

The post, which was published late last night, said the condition of the tiger is unknown. It said that after being shot, Eko retreated to the back of the enclosure. After flying a drone through the enclosure, authorities found the tiger to be non-responsive.

A zoo representative later told CNN that the tiger had died.

Eko and his three siblings — two brothers and a sister — were born on Nov. 12, 2013 at the Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas. Eko and his two brothers arrived at Woodland Park Zoo in March 2015. Eko was sent to the Naples Zoo in 2019. His name in Indonesian means "first born."