(NewsNation) — A close bond turned fatal at an Oklahoma tiger preserve Saturday, when a handler was fatally mauled by the very animal he had raised from a cub. Ryan Easley, 37, was the operator of the Growler Pines Tiger Preserve near Hugo, Oklahoma, and had spent years caring for the tiger that ultimately took his life. However, the key difference, Galante noted, is that when a tiger lashes out, “it can be absolutely fatal,” much like the “poorly placed bite” that killed Easley. Galante emphasized that the tiger “didn’t want to kill” Easley, and that the mauling underscores the “unpredictability that large cats exhibit.”Wild chimps catching a buzz off boozy fruit? It is currently unclear whether the tiger will be euthanized.