OKLAHOMA CITY — A large tiger fatally attacked an animal handler as horrified onlookers watched during the end of a big cat show at a preserve in southeastern Oklahoma, officials said Monday.

Ryan Easley, 37, was dead when deputies arrived Saturday at the Growler Pines Tiger Preserve near Hugo, not far from the Texas border, just minutes after dispatchers received an emergency call, said Choctaw County Sheriff Terry Park.

Park said the tiger unexpectedly started to bite and then shake Easley while the two were inside of a large cage.

“It was a big tiger,” Park told The Associated Press. “This particular one, he'd had for quite some time.”

Park said Easley's wife and young daughter were present when the attack occurred.

Messages left Monday with Growler Pines Tiger Preserve were not im

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