A zookeeper who spent nearly all of her 40-year career at the Beekse Bergen Safari Park in the Netherlands has died from wounds suffered following a leopard attack.

The woman, whose name has been withheld in accordance with Dutch privacy law, passed away on Tuesday, the park in the southern Dutch town of Hilvarenbeek said.

She had suffered serious wounds to her head and neck on Saturday while working in an enclosure with two male Persian leopards. The woman began working at the zoo when she was 17.

“Her passing deeply affects us all, and we sympathise intensely with her family, friends, and loved ones,” the zoo said in a statement, which was made together with her family.

An investigation is underway to determine why the woman was in the enclosure with the leopards.…