Investigation stopped – caretaker dead: rhino accident remains mysterious

“They just got married in the spring and they were very nice people. It’s just terrible.” Neighbors try to explain the incomprehensible, find the right words for the tragedy. It is difficult for them to succeed. Even investigators are still completely unclear about the exact course of the accident days later.

The fact is: the rhino ‘Yeti’ killed zookeeper Juliane K. (33) at the Salzburg zoo on Monday morning. Her husband Christopher came to her aid and suffered serious injuries to his thigh. The couple lived in the Tennengauer community of Adnet – together with many animals in a remote farm. “It was almost like a small private zoo,” says one community citizen.

It is not yet clear when the injured man will be able to return home. He underwent surgery on Monday and is out of danger. He now knows that his Bavarian wife did not survive the attack. The police have already been able to question him about what happened. They do not want to reveal details. “This is not relevant to the press,” is the short answer to the “Krone” question. In any case, the labor inspectorate was unable to identify any shortcomings. “There is no further investigation by the police,” the director said. No autopsy was performed on the body. However, the question remains: how could the zoo accident happen? “We’ll probably never find out,” says animated zoo owner Sabine Grebner.

Was the nurse thrown into the locked room?
There are no cameras at the scene of the accident – the rhino’s indoor enclosure. As reported, the keeper wanted to apply insect repellent to the skin of the 30-year-old rhino “Yeti”. “No caretaker should go directly to the rhinos. There is always a barrier between animals and people,” says Grebner. In the rhino’s indoor enclosure these are enormous concrete posts. There is a distance of approximately 40 centimeters between the posts for entry and exit. Juliane K. could have been thrown over the posts with the horn blowing. “But that is pure speculation,” says the zoo boss. And: “Our nurse had a lot of experience. She certainly followed all safety measures.” There will be no additional video surveillance in the indoor accommodation in the future.

The zoo itself will not reopen until Friday. The shock is still deep among the working population. “You experienced the day of the accident as if you were in a trance,” says Grebner. Still, almost everyone showed up for work the next day. Together with the crisis intervention team, we tried to process what had happened over breakfast. There is now a memorial at the zoo where the zookeepers placed candles.

Rhino “Yeti” remains in Salzburg Zoo
The 1.8-ton rhino “Yeti” is expected to remain in Salzburg. The keepers are already taking care of the pachyderm again. Grebner: “If at some point our employee decides that she can no longer work with her, she will be sent to another zoo.”