Accidental injuries and deaths due to animals at Japanese zoos from 1950 to 2022: a quantitative assessment

Abstract

Deaths and injuries caused by zoo animals provoke terrible human and social damage, but the exact number of such accidents is not known. To promote zoo safety measures, this study quantitatively evaluated human fatal and injury accidents caused by zoo animals in Japan. Using five newspaper databases, we searched approximately 72 years’ worth of articles for zoo animal accidents, and recorded the animal species and victims involved along with their precipitating circumstances. The study identified 107 accidents across 54 zoos, involving 122 people (25 deaths, 50 serious injuries, 39 minor injuries, and 8 unknown). Most keeper accidents occurred while they were in the same enclosure as elephants (Elephantidae) or operating doors of enclosures housing big cats (Felidae), and these accidents are increasing in recent years. Conversely, most visitor accidents were caused by incursion into the habitats of bears (Ursidae) and other animals, but no such incidents have occurred since the 1990s. Elephant-related accidents are expected to decrease because their care and interactions have been switched from free contact to protected contact. New countermeasures against accidents related to door operations in big cat habitats should be prioritized instead.