A New Zealand zookeeper was killed by a Sumatran tiger yesterday morning when the zoo was open to visitors.
Police said they were called to the Hamilton Zoo at 11am after reports a female zookeeper had been attacked by one of the zoo’s five tigers. Police said the woman died at the scene.
The zoo asked all visitors to leave and said it was closing its doors until Thursday. Authorities are investigating to determine exactly what happened.
Zoo visitor Adam Rich told The New Zealand Herald that he saw the tigers on Sunday morning and noticed a female zookeeper opening up a gate to allow them access to an outdoor enclosure.
He said about 45 minutes to one hour later, zoo staff approached him and asked him to leave. He said they were offering everyone a refund.
“They seemed a bit panicky,” he told the newspaper. “I thought an animal had escaped but they guaranteed that an animal did not escape.”
The zoo is owned and operated by the Hamilton City Council.
Council spokesman Jeff Neems said the tiger that attacked the woman is named Oz and is the zoo’s only adult male tiger.
He said Oz was currently safely contained inside his enclosure. He said he had no comment on whether the animal was likely to be put down.
He said the public was never in danger during the incident and that all animals had remained contained in their enclosures.
“Our focus at this time is on providing the adequate support for our staff and family members who have been affected by this tragic incident,” the council said in a statement, adding that they would not be commenting on what went wrong until all investigations had been completed.
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