FWC Final Report on Wooten’s Airboat Tiger Bite Incident

Here is a recap of the incident that occurred on March 22, 2022 at the Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours in Ochopee, Florida.

At 6:25 PM Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) received a call from Wooten’s Manager, Carl Nicholson, reporting an incident at the facility involving an employee who sustained injuries from a tiger bite. Nicholson stated that an employee identified as Ignacio Meabe Martinez sustained serious injuries to both arms and was transported to an area hospital. Mr. Nicholson stated to FWC that the tigers never left their enclosure and never posed a public safety threat. Martinez is a mechanic and had only been employed at Wooten’s for about two or three weeks.

Employee Meabe Martinez was airlifted to Gulf Coast Hospital in Fort Myers. A medical social worker informed FWC that Martinez “was drunk” when he arrived at the hospital. Martinez sustained severe injuries to both arms and left hand. He was missing the tip of his middle finger on his left hand.

Mr. Jose Ramos, who is the caretaker for the tigers and an eyewitness to the incident, made the following statements to FWC: 

On March 22, 2022 at approximately 6:30 (1610) he entered the enclosure as he typically does on a daily basis to feed the tigers. He unlocked the main entry gate to the buffer zone and secured the gate latch behind him but did not lock it since he was behind the scenes with the tigers and lions. 

Ramos completed the feeding of the tigers when he noticed Martinez approach the tiger lockdown feeding area from the unlocked main entry point to the enclosures' buffer zone. Martinez was not authorized to be in contact with any of the captive wildlife at the facility. 

Ramos instructed Martinez to exit the buffer zone area of the tiger's enclosure. Martinez responded that they are both employees there and they both have the same right to be there and he wanted to “caress the tiger.”

According to caretaker Ramos there was a piece of chicken left on the concrete floor of the lockdown feeding area of the enclosure. Martinez reached into the enclosure through the fencing and picked up the piece of chicken from the floor. He began calling the female tiger by her name "Daisy" and enticed her with the piece of chicken with his left hand inside of the tiger's enclosure. Daisy approached, took the piece of chicken with her mouth and dropped it to the floor. 

Martinez then began to pet Daisy on the head and face. Daisy bit Martinez by grabbing two fingers of his left hand and pulled his arm further into the enclosure. She latched onto his left arm with her claws and bit down on his left hand. Martinez reached in through the fencing with his right arm to grab his left hand from the tiger's mouth and began pulling back. 

The male tiger, Duruba, bit down on Martinez’s right arm and both tigers began to pull. 

Ramos used a garden hose to spray water at the tigers. Duruba immediately released his grip on Ramos but Daisy remained latched on. Ramos grabbed Martinez from the torso and pulled back until contact between Daisy and Martinez was broken. Ramos was able to drag Martinez out of the enclosure's buffer zone area to safety. 

The two tigers at this facility are Daisy, approximately 18-year-old female Siberian tiger who weighs approximately 350 pounds, and a 15-year-old male Bengal tiger named Duruba, who weighs approximately 700 pounds. Both tigers were involved in the incident.

Wooten's Everglades Airboat Tours facility consists of two tigers, two lions, three crocodiles, approximately 100 alligators, and one otter. 

Conclusion: FWC concluded that they found no violations as it relates to Wooten's Everglades Airboat Tours.