Oklahoma tiger handler was fatally attacked in front of family during show

Officials say tiger unexpectedly bit and shook Ryan Easley in front of wife, child and onlookers at Growler Pines

The tiger handler who was fatally mauled in Oklahoma recently was killed as horrified onlookers – including his wife and daughter – watched during the end of a big cat show, local officials said Monday.

Ryan Easley, 37, was dead when deputies arrived on Saturday at the Growler Pines Tiger Preserve near Hugo, not far from the Texas border, just minutes after dispatchers received an emergency call, said the Choctaw county sheriff, Terry Park.

Park said the tiger unexpectedly started to bite and then shake Easley while the two were inside of a large cage.

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