The Palm Beach Zoo keeper mauled to death by a Malayan tiger broke zoo safety protocol and rules by being in the cat's sleeping area, according to the organization's top official.
Stacey Konwiser, 38, was killed April 15 when a 13-year-old Malayan tiger attacked her in a secured area where the tigers eat and sleep. Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society President Andrew Aiken posted a statement on the organization's Facebook page late Friday following a preliminary investigation.
"The facts as we know them confirm that one of our most senior and experienced animal experts, who was highly qualified and a leader in her zookeeper position, secured a portion of the tiger night house with a tiger in it, and then entered that same portion of the night house after it was clearly designated as accessible by a tiger," Aiken wrote.
"Under Palm Beach Zoo policy, zoo employees are never allowed to enter a tiger enclosure to which the animal has access," Aiken added.
In a separate Frequently Asked Questions post on the zoo's web page, Aiken continued to address the circumstances around the death.
"There is absolutely no mystery as to how Stacey Konwiser died," Aiken wrote. "The question is: why did a deeply talented and experienced Zookeeper, fully aware of the presence of a tiger and knowledgeable of our safety protocols, enter a tiger enclosure into which a tiger had access?"
Aiken wrote that the "tragic loss" is still the subject of five continuing investigations, including the zoo's own personal examination, with officers from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, detectives from the West Palm Beach Police Department, Florida Fish & Wildlife officers and investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"As the facts are known, we will provide them to you," Aiken wrote. "All of us share two common goals: to completely understand how this could ever happen and to assure everyone that this will never happen again."
The rare Malayan tiger was tranquilized during the incident and remains at the zoo.
While zoo officials have received criticism for not shooting the tiger, which has not been named, Aiken continued to defend the zoo's actions. He wrote the zoo is equipped to use "deadly force," but there are many factors at work, including the configuration of the space and the possibility of a high-caliber projectile ricochet.
"We stand by our decision to tranquilize the tiger involved in the incident on April 15, 2016," Aiken wrote on the website.
According to the zoo website, the Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris Jacksoni) is a critically endangered species native to Southeast Asia, where there are believed to be fewer than 250 mature animals left in the wild. The Palm Beach Zoo is one of 27 North American institutions fighting for its survival through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan.
