Samantha Kudeweh and Oz (Photo : Facebook)
A male Sumatran tiger attacked and killed on Sunday Samantha Kudeweh, a female zookeeper at the Hamilton Zoo. Oz, the tiger, did not escape from its enclosure which was being cleaned when the incident happened, according to the statement posted by the Hamilton City Council on its website.
There was no further details on the attack. The zoo's focus, in the meantime, is to provide sufficient support for zoo employees and family members affected by the incident, reports CNN.
However, TVNZ reports that 11-year-old Oz will not be euthanized, according to the Hamilton City Council. Lance Vervoort from the council explains that the attack was part of the tiger's natural instinct and there is no ongoing risk from the big cat. He adds that Oz, father of two cubs, is vital to the city's ongoing breeding program to conserve the rare species.
Because of the tragedy, the Hamilton Zoo will be closed until Thursday as police and other agencies investigate the incident. The zoo operators would also have the site blessed before reopening to the public, according to the zoo curator.
The victim's family said in a statement that the 43-year-old zookeeper "was recognized and respected globally as a talented, passionate and highly knowledgeable conservation and zoo professional whose expertise and understanding of animals was highly sought after by other zoos and captive animal breeding programs."
Kudeweh was married and has two children, 9-year-old Billy and 3-year-old Sage. She worked for the zoo for 10 years. However, she has been in the conservation and zoo sector for over 20 years, according to the Hamilton Zoo. As a curator, she was second-in-charge after the zoo director.
Even as a young girl, Samantha had expressed to her parents that she wants to work in a zoo when she becomes an adult. Before she was employed by Hamilton Zoo, Kudeweh was a volunteer at the Auckland Zoo for several years before she transferred to Zoos Victoria in 2002 in Melbourne where she met her husband, Richard Kudeweh, also a zoo professional. She transferred to Hamilton Zoo in 2005.
As a tribute to her, Hamilton residents laid flowers outside the zoo's door.
