Animal handler Ryan Easley, 37, was fatally mauled by a tiger as onlookers watched during the end of a big cat show at a preserve in southeastern Oklahoma, Choctaw Police Department confirmed.

The incident happened at the Growler Pines Tiger Preserve in Hugo, Okla., on Sept. 20. While inside a large enclosure with the animal, the tiger suddenly attacked, biting and shaking Easley, according to Choctaw County Sheriff Terry Park.

“It was a big tiger,” Park told The Associated Press . “This particular one, he’d had for quite some time.”

Park said that Easley’s wife and young daughter were present when the attack occurred.

Deputies and emergency medical workers responded to the scene and pronounced Easley dead, Park said.

In a statement posted to Facebook , The Growler Pines Tiger Pre

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