What to know about the deadly U.K. tiger attack — and the 'offensive' video shared by Trump

The family of a man mauled to death by a tiger at a U.K. wildlife park on Saturday is pleading with people to stop sharing footage of the attack online, calling it "deeply offensive" and painful.

The statement from the family of 23-year-old William Chapman came after U.S. President Donald Trump shared a clip of the fatal attack on his Truth Social platform Tuesday, writing "don't ⁠ever mess with nature!"

The 41-second video shared by Trump shows a large tiger repeatedly biting and clawing at Chapman. Trump's post was then shared by the White House's Rapid Response account on X, where commenters called it "sick" and "disgusting."

The U.S. president later posted ​an apparently AI-generated video depicting himself taming a tiger ​and then playing with it, accompanied by the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

His social media posts have sparked outrage, but they have also raised questions about how the tragedy happened.

Here's what we know about the tiger attack and the man who died.

Where did this happen?

The attack happened on Saturday in a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster in northern England.

The popular conservation and welfare park opened in 2009. The "Land of the Tigers" area opened in 2011, "where the majestic big cats can freely roaming their woodlands and grasslands or play in their very own waterfall pool," the park explains on its website.

It features a 300-metre-long raised walkway for spectators.

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How did the attack happen?

BBC News reports that emergency services were called to the park in the early afternoon Saturday for reports that a man had climbed into the tiger enclosure from a high walkway. Witnesses told multiple U.K. media outlets that the tiger had been lounging on a ledge until the man entered.

"The tiger got alerted. He went into stalk mode. The tiger came flying off the ledge and approached him," a witness told The Telegraph.

Witnesses reportedly tried to distract the tiger, shouting at it and banging on the fence, as the animal pawed and nipped at the man. Videos posted online appear to show the man pointing at the tiger, yelling "stop" and "no."

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Staff reportedly erected screens to block the view as emergency services responded.

In a Facebook post, South Yorkshire Police confirmed that "despite the best efforts of medical personnel, the man was pronounced dead at the scene." The park was then evacuated, police said, adding there was no risk to the public.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park was closed and has yet to reopen to the public. The park is "working closely with the authorities," it notes on its website.

A coroner's inquest is scheduled to begin Thursday, reports the Doncaster Free Press.

William Chapman in an undated photo posted to Facebook by South Yorkshire Police on Wednesday. (South Yorkshire Police/Facebook)

Who was William Chapman?

Chapman, 23, was a former child actor, according to the BBC. The outlet notes he appeared in the 2009 ITV production May Contain Nuts and the 2012 BBC series True Stories.

The Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe shared a tribute to Chapman on Facebook Tuesday, noting he was a former student.

"We loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer, during his time with us," the school posted.

"It was a privilege to be part of his journey, and he will be remembered with great fondness by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him."

Chapman's family described him as a "bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved" in a statement shared by South Yorkshire Police.

"Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication," the family added.

The statement said it was for the coroner to determine whether his medical history played a role in his death.

"The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their utmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did."

A Facebook tribute to William Chapman posted by the Jackie Palmer Stage School and Agency on Tuesday. (Jackie Palmer Stage School and Agency/Facebook)

How did he get in the enclosure?

Chapman reportedly entered it himself.

A witness told the Daily Mail that Chapman had been "dancing his way up and down the bridge with his AirPods in" before asking her to take a photo of him. Witnesses told the Telegraph that, shortly after, another woman tried to stop Chapman from jumping in but he overpowered her.

Witnesses described Chapman acting "in a trance" in the enclosure, sometimes dancing with his phone out.

Several U.K. media outlets reported that he uploaded a video of himself approaching the tiger in the enclosure to his Instagram account moments before he was attacked. His account has since been made private.

"He had arms wide open ready for the tiger to attack him. It was quite bad. We were just stood there, frozen… the last thing we saw was the tiger’s jaw on his neck," Scarlet Hogan, 21, told the Telegraph.

Observers online have pointed out that in the videos circulating online, Chapman appears to clench both fists with his little fingers pointing out. They suggest this may be the sign for "bad" in Makaton, an alternative form of sign language for people with limited speech.

These reports have not been confirmed.

A photo of William Chapman posted by South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard on Wednesday. (Oliver Coppard/Facebook)

What happens to the tiger?

The tiger involved in the attacked, named Altai, is "safe and well" and will not be euthanized, the park said in a statement posted on Instagram on Sunday.

The tigers at Yorkshire Wildlife Park are all endangered Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers. They're the largest big cats in the world.

An animal ranger at the park quoted by the Telegraph said it wasn't the tiger's fault, and that to the animal, Chapman was "just something else to play with."

"The keepers are all distraught," she added.

The park welcomed Altai in a 2025 Instagram post, saying he had just arrived from a zoo in Norway.

An Instagram post by Yorkshire Wildlife Park from 2025 shows Altai, the Amur tiger that mauled a man in an enclosure on Saturday. (Yorkshire Wildlife Park/Instagram)

Why did Trump post about it?

Trump has not offered an explanation for his posts about Chapman.

The U.S. president regularly uses social media to make commentary and share AI-generated images and videos. In April, for instance, Trump posted an image that appeared to depict himself as Jesus.

Chapman's family, in their statement, asked people to "please stop" sharing footage.

"The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened," the family said.

"The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time."

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard was among those to condemn Trump's posts.

"The President of the United States now using AI to mock that incident and the pain felt by the family … for little more than a cheap laugh on social media, should be greeted with the contempt it deserves," Coppard wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, videos of the attack were still being shared across social media platforms including X, Threads and TikTok. The video shared on X by the White House had been viewed around 2.5 million times.

CBC News has contacted X to ask whether it will be removing videos that show the attack, but has yet to hear back.

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