Staff at Edinburgh zoo have told managers in a leaked email that their colleague could have died when she was forced to flee an enclosure into which a giant panda had been allowed back prematurely.
Unidentified workers issued a warning about the “very serious near miss” and wider safety concerns in the email alongside a leaked CCTV still, showing the employee leaving the enclosure with the panda close behind her.
In the image, a discarded brush can be seen next to a bin, supporting claims that the keeper was cleaning the enclosure when she was surprised by the bear. In the email, staff suggest that the animal could have escaped into public areas of the zoo during the incident last year.
The email said: “Are we going to wait for a disaster to happen before things change at the zoo? There has been no proper health and safety training on safety or evacuation for years. Who is responsible for health and safety?”
Despite their appearance, adult giant pandas are said to be as dangerous as black bears. Three visitors to Beijing zoo were mauled between 2006 and 2009 after falling or jumping into giant panda enclosures. In 2011, a giant panda bit a worker at San Diego zoo.
The email, which was sent to senior management, claimed that the zoo was in crisis and staff had lost confidence in their bosses, several of whom are mentioned by name. It points out that visitor numbers are declining, new initiatives including Zoo Nights events and a ferris wheel on the site have not been well received, and the morale of workers is “the lowest we have ever known it”.
The email added: “It has got to the point where many of us fear about the future of the zoo and we can’t afford to lose our jobs.
“Things are getting really bad and many good people are leaving or looking for jobs somewhere else.”
The City of Edinburgh council, which licenses the zoo, Scotland’s second-most popular paid attraction, confirmed that the incident had taken place and said the zoo had revised its procedures.
A spokesman for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland told the BBC: “Staff reported a near miss last year which was fully investigated and Edinburgh council were kept informed throughout the process. No staff or animals were harmed during the incident.
“While we never comment on speculation or accusatory comments from anonymous sources, should any staff grievances be raised, they are handled by our well-established employee consultative board. We can confirm this has not occurred in this instance.”
