New Zealand zookeeper killed by tiger while zoo was open

Wendy Lester said she was “reeling from the news about Hamilton Zoo, my son spent a couple of weeks doing tiger observations at Auckland Zoo, he loves them”.

One of the Sumatran Tigers at Hamilton Zoo.

“Condolences to the zoo family”.

He said Kudeweh’s death was a tragedy for the worldwide wildlife conservation community.

Samantha Kudeweh, 43, was the zoo curator at Hamilton Zoo with more than 20 years of experience, the New Zealand Herald reports.

In response to the shocking incident, the zoo temporarily closed its doors, although it insisted no member of the public was ever at risk of being attacked.

She was puzzled as to how the attack could have happened, based on what the zoo had told her.

Mrs Kudeweh worked at Zoos Victoria in 2002 where she met her husband before moving to Hamilton Zoo in 2005.

Her family described her as a “passionate conservationist”. In November, two cubs were born at the zoo under a global breeding program, according to the park’s website.

She was also an important part of a nationwide programme to help rebuild populations of native species.

The council is focusing on supporting them, while the investigations are completed, he said.

Police were advising the next-of-kin but would require significant time to do so, she said.

Vervoort said Kudeweh’s family had asked for ongoing privacy and time to grieve while funeral arrangements are made.

Ms Kudeweh was married to fellow zoo professional Richard Kudeweh and had two children Billy, 9, and Sage, 3.

“I feel this accident was caused by over familiarity, and is not the animals fault”, writes petition author Steven McTague, “therefore the tiger should not be euthanized”.

The downside was saying goodbye to animals, it said.

“This was a male lion in an enclosure, with a female”. “It’s an incredibly within sight employees group here at the zoo and many the employees are devastating…” Council was helping to offer support to grieving staff. “It is too early to determine exactly what’s happened”, said Senior Sergeant Juliet Burgess of Waikato police. “We all get on really well together”.

He said the team was still coming to terms with the incident, and thanked “the zoo industry worldwide” for its support. “Yesterday the police and WorkSafe where there and MBI are doing their investigation, so we really have to wait and see what they deliver”. “We’re not clear yet, so I’m expecting that later this week we’ll know that”. It is owned by the Hamilton City Council. She is the zoo’s potential breeding female after Mencari was speyed in 2010.