Yorkshire Wildlife Park: History of Doncaster-based park where man died on Saturday - when did tiger enclosure open?

The popular park opened in 2009

Yorkshire Wildlife Park was the scene of a tragic incident on Saturday where a man lost his life in the tiger enclosure.

Here is a brief history of the popular park - which opened in 2009 - according to its website:

Opening

The park was opened in 2009 by TV Presenter Mr Tumble (real name Justin Fletcher MBE)

Lion rescue

In February 2010, the park rescued 13 lions from living in very poor conditions in a dilapidated Romanian zoo.

The lions were released into the newly built 10-acre Lion Country enclosure

Land of the Tiger Opens

In 2011, Land of the Tigers opened - the scene of the Saturday incident

Leopard Heights Opens

The leopard enclosure opened in 2012 - one of the largest in the world

Project Polar

Polar bears arrived in 2014 at the park - the first was a 500kg male named Victor

Yorkshire Hive

A new indoor play area and restaurant opened in 2021

HRH Prince Edward

HRH Prince Edward opened the sea lion reserve later in 2021

Pangea

An immersive dinosaur attraction was opened by Helen Skelton in May 2022

Lion rescue

March 2024 saw the arrival of four lions rescued from Poland

Lion rescue from Ukraine

As the conflict continued in Ukraine, the Park and WildLife Foundation, the charity based at the park, raised the funds to cover the specialist transport costs for the 1,700 mile trip to bring three more lions to safety in September 2025