Rhino kills a female zookeeper and seriously injures her husband’s colleague while trying to save her at Austrian zoo

A rhino crushed a zookeeper and seriously injured her husband as he desperately tried to save his wife, Austrian media report.

The 33-year-old woman is said to have tried to apply insect repellent when she was fatally injured by a 1.8-ton rhino named ‘Yeti’ at Salzburg’s Hellbrunn zoo.

The incident happened during the morning rounds when the animals were being fed, Sabine Grebner, director of Salzburg Hellbrunn Zoo, told a news conference.

“We don’t know exactly how it happened,” Grebner said, adding that the slain female zookeeper suffered chest injuries.

The female zookeeper, a German from the state of Bavaria, was very experienced and specialized in rhinos, while her male colleague was responsible for livestock feeding.

While trying to chase the animal away, the 34-year-old male keeper was attacked by the same rhino and seriously injured.

He was rushed to hospital and his life is not in danger. The female caregiver was pronounced dead at 7:04 a.m. (05:04 GMT).

The rhino involved was a female named Yeti, Grebner confirmed, adding that all of the rhinos at the zoo have been there for a long time and work with their keepers.

Salzburg police said in a statement that a 33-year-old caretaker was attacked by the animal while in the rhino enclosure “for reasons still unknown.”

“The woman succumbed to her injuries at the scene of the accident,” a police spokesperson said.

The zoo said it would remain closed on Tuesday.

Located in the gardens of Hellbrunn Palace, Salzburg Zoo is home to 1,500 animals and attracts more than 400,000 visitors annually.