New Zealand zookeeper killed by Sumatran tiger while zoo open to visitors

He said the visitors were never in any danger, at any point of time during the incident and that all the animals were safely contained in their enclosures.

Vervoort said Hamilton Zoo will not be commenting on tiger management procedures until all investigations have been completed. Place: WELLINGTON: A tiger that mauled a New Zealand zookeeper to death will not be put down because the attack was “in line with his natural instincts”, zoo officials said today.

No aspects have been disclosed of how the incident occurred, but city officials said on Monday there was “no reason” to euthanize Oz. “Oz is a significant animal for his species. Hamilton Zoo will be closed until Thursday”. He adds that Oz, father of two cubs, is vital to the city’s ongoing breeding program to conserve the rare species.

THE zoo keeper who was fatally attacked by a tiger at Hamilton Zoo yesterday was a mother of two who loved her family, colleagues and job.

Messages of support for the woman’s family are being left on the zoo’s Facebook page, with many urging it not to put the animal down.

Mrs Nichols said family and friends asked for privacy while they grieved and made arrangements Samantha’s farewell.

She worked at Auckland Zoo for several years, before a shift to Zoos Victoria in Melbourne in 2002.

Ms Kudeweh was killed by 11-year old male tiger Oz.

There are reports the woman was attacked by the tiger when the enclosure was being cleaned.

However he declined to comment on the status of the zoo keeper at that time, or how serious the victim’s injuries were, other than to say there were now no safety risks inside the premises.

Oz has been placed in an enclosure with another female tiger, and it is unclear if the authorities will destroy the animal, as often happens when animals attack humans.

A screengrab from the webpage of New Zealand’s Hamilton Zoo shows a Sumatran Tiger, a highly endangered specie.

At no time today have any zoo animals NOT been contained.

Hamilton mayor Julie Hardaker said zoo staff were struggling to come to terms with what happened.

Thousands of people are calling for the life of a Sumatran tiger to be spared, following the death of a zookeeper in Hamilton.