Stacey Konwiser, 38, was pronounced dead at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where she had been rushed after the incident at around 1:45 p.m. local time.
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The tragic death of a Florida zookeeper attacked by one of her beloved tigers could have been prevented if the facility had more rigorous safety standards, an animal rights group said.
Zoo colleagues tranquillised the tiger and had to wait until the drugs took effect to reach Konweiser. Police also confirmed that the tiger was in a contained area and guests were not at risk.
West Palm Beach Police said Konwiser’s family had been notified of her death. She was an “expert” at dealing with animals and had also been called the “tiger whisperer” by the zoo spokesman Naki Carter. Four of those tigers are kept at the Palm Beach Zoo, according to Fox News. It was later put down.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating.
The zoo is now closed, pending an investigation from OSHA and other authorities.
Immediately after the incident Friday, a Code Red was issued and “guests, who were never in any danger, were ushered out of the Zoo in an orderly fashion and the Zoo went into lockdown”, the zoo said in a statement Friday. “She dedicated her life to her mission of protecting this species”, Carter said.
“(The zookeeper) was very proficient and efficient handling these animals and something happened”, the Post quoted Carter as saying. While zoo officials contend that Konwiser had done nothing wrong, mere speculation surrounds her encounter with the 300-pound tiger or if there was a breach allowing the tiger to attack her. “While we will never speak again with her, her memory will live on”. The Miami Herald points out that there was another tiger related death yesterday as well, when a rare white tiger escaped its enclosure in a private zoo in El Salvador and killed its keeper before being recaptured.
“I think one of the things people have to understand here is that this is not the tiger’s fault”, Magill said.
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“We were trying to exit and they forced us into the gift shop”, she said. Her husband had also worked at the California zoo. “She loved tigers and they loved her”, she said.
