Toddler's horrific injuries in tapir zoo attack revealed

The two-year-old girl sustained multiple injuries in the attack by the plant-eating animal, including laceration of the forearm and multiple perforating wounds to her stomach, the Irish Medical Journal reports.

The girl was set upon by the 225kg exotic animal named Rio during a supervised "close encounter" experience in the tapir enclosure at Dublin Zoo on August 8 last year.

Plastic surgery teams and paediatric surgeons performed several operations on the child, including bowel resection. She was also treated with a course of IV antibiotics which are usually only required to treat more serious bacterial infections.

Medics described the girl as ‘fortunate’ in that she suffered no complications from the attack and has suffered no long term illness as a result.

In the report in the current edition of the Irish Medical Journal (IMJ), it states that the girl ‘was bitten, held to the ground and shaken’.

“Her mother intervened and sustained two bite injuries while attempting to rescue the child,” the report reads.

“No loss of consciousness was reported,” it adds.

The report, which is called ‘Animal Attack: An Unusual Case of Multiple Trauma in Childhood’, states that there are few reported attacks worldwide from the herbivore, which is about the size of a large pig. The paper also refers to a fatality as a result of a tapir attack in Brazil.

“Our case concerns a two and a half year old girl brought in by ambulance following attack by a tapir at a city zoo,” the academic paper reads.

“The father reported that the child was attending a behind-the-scenes tour in the animal’s enclosure and was attacked by a female tapir who had recently calved.

“She was bitten, held to the ground and shaken,” it continues.

“Multiple injuries were noted including: a deep laceration of the palmar aspect of her left forearm, haematoma on her right forehead and multiple abdominal lacerations, the largest of which was at the left costal margin and had large bowel eviscerated through it.”

The toddler was reported to ‘have done very well’ post-procedure and was transferred to a ward on the first day after the operations.

The report says the girl ‘continued to improve’ and was receiving food orally after just four days.

She was discharged from hospital one week after the procedure.

Dublin Zoo pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations in Dublin District Court and was ordered to pay €5,000 to two children’s charities last month.

Judge John O'Neill heard that there had never been any incident like this in the zoo's 180-year history and it was humiliated, apologetic and embarrassed. It has implemented new safety measures and introduced updated protocols and procedures.