man as 26-year-old river rosenqvist, who called 911 himself. i m being attacked by a tiger. please. please. please. reporter: rosenquist was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. authorities say he was a member of a cleaning service and was either petting or feeding the animal, both of which are unauthorized. it s a male tiger defending his territory. it was a tight defense. not a tiger attack. reporter: a veterinarian examined the 8-year-old endangered malayan tiger, seen here on the zoo s website, once it was safe to do so, and determined it died from the gunshot. is there anything that the deputies may have been able to do in that spot? that deputy did the absolute right thing at the right time. the bottom line is, there s no single animal life more important than a human life. reporter: authorities say that the cleaning service is responsible for the restrooms and the gift shop, not the animal enclosures. tonight, there is no update on that man s condition.
In the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report a nurse at Lee Memorial Hospital who treated River Rosenquist, the man whose arm was bitten inside the tiger enclosure at the Naples Zoo, said he smelled of alcohol when he was being treated.