Big Cat Rescue: a volunteer was attacked by a tiger at the Carole Baskin animal sanctuary

She reached her arm through the cage to unclip a second holder – breaking protocol, according to the sanctuary – and Kimba grabbed the volunteer’s arm and “almost tore it off the shoulder,” the Tampa Sanctuary said. .

Another volunteer heard the attack and ran, and the tiger released its grip on the arm. Colleagues attempted to stop the bleeding and save the injured volunteer’s arm before an ambulance arrived about 20 minutes later.

Kimba will be quarantined for the next 30 days, Big Cat Rescue said, but “was just acting normally due to the presence of food and opportunities.”

The shrine said the volunteer, still conscious after the attack, insisted that she didn’t want Kimba punished for biting her.

CNN has contacted the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Service for more information on the attack and is awaiting a response. The department told CNN affiliate WFTS that it intervened at the scene and that one person was taken to hospital with “serious injuries.”

The attack came the same week that the House of Representatives plans to vote on the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which would end private possession of big cats in the United States and the handling of young cubs. Baskin strongly supported the bill.

The attack on a Big Cat Rescue volunteer only reinforces why the Big Cat Public Safety Act should be passed, the sanctuary said in a statement to CNN.

Big Cat Rescue is home to over 50 exotic cats like tigers, lions, bobcats and more, many of whom have been rescued from the pet trade.

Kimba, the tiger who attacked the volunteer, was rescued from a circus in Guatemala, according to the shrine.

Big Cat Rescue and its founder have been featured in the Netflix documentary series “TIger King,” though Baskin has criticized his portrayal.