“We’ve lost a family member”, Carter said, offering condolences to Konwiser’s husband, who she said is also a keeper at the zoo.
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A second deadly tiger attack occurred Friday in El SAlvador where white tiger being kept in a private zoo in El Salvador attacked its keeper and escaped, but was recaptured hours later, police said.
Konwiser was performing a routine operation inside an enclosure at Palm Beach Zoo yesterday when an endangered 13-year-old Malayan tiger attacked her.
Officials closed the zoo and evacuated patrons after initially telling them to barricade themselves inside a gift shop as a precaution, WSVN-TV reported.
The victim was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where she later died.
“She loved tigers, ” zoo spokeswoman Naki Carter told the Palm Beach Post. Zoo officials initially said Konwiser had done nothing wrong, but it remains unknown if she was having direct contact with the 300-pound male tiger or if the area somehow was breached by the tiger.
As soon as that happened, Animal Control was contacted about the attack but Animal Control contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission who responded to the call.
Since 1990, according to the group, at least 24 deaths – and 265 injuries – were caused by “captive big cats” in the United States.
“This was not out of the norm”, said Ms Carter. Zookeepers usually avoid ever coming into close contact with unsafe predators like tigers, and so it’s possible some kind of equipment failure or oversight may have led to the fatal encounter.
Konwiser had been employed at the zoo for three years and loved tigers, according to officials. It is the first time a person has died from an animal attack at the Palm Beach Zoo, Carter said.
“Typically, zoo cats, that’s where they feel most comfortable”, Salmoni said on “Anderson Cooper 360”.
Palm Beach Zoo champions the protection of the endangered Malayan tiger and it is estimated that there are fewer than 250 in the wild. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating the case.
We want to underscore that at no time was the public at any risk.
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The zoo says that the situation was handled according to protocols that are in place for such incidents.
