Hamilton Zoo tiger attack not isolated incident
A fatal attack on a Hamilton
A Worksafe NZ investigation was launched following curator Samantha Kudeweh's death at the zoo on Sunday morning.
Big cat commentator, Dr Bhagavan Antle, from South Carolina-based institution T.I.G.E.R.S - The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, said any investigation into the fatal attack had to also examine a potentially lethal encounter with a tiger at Hamilton Zoo two years earlier.
In 2013, a keeper walked 10 metres into an enclosure she thought was empty before finding herself alone with a five-year-old female tiger after a gate had mistakenly been left open.
Antle said the 2013 incident raised "red flags" and circumstances surrounding the event had to be examined by Worksafe NZ investigators.
"You can't look at one event in isolation, you have to be very suspicious about whether there was any duplication in what happened," Antle said.
"You have to ask what on earth happened last time and what was put in place to stop a tragedy from occurring?
"Hamilton Zoo may be superbly designed and it could just come down to a human error or something, or there could be terrible flaws with their enclosures' designs, we don't know at this stage."
A council investigation into the 2013 close encounter concluded the incident was a result of human error and said appropriate processes were in place.
Following the incident, a key retention padlock system for all carnivores and primates enclosures was introduced.
Council spokesman Jeff Neems would not comment on whether a health and safety investigation was carried out following the 2013 incident, but a council press release said the safety changes were to the satisfaction of the Environmental Protection Agency and Primary Industries Ministry.
Antle said it was too early to know how the fatal tiger attack could impact the zoo's future.
Hamilton City Council chief executive Richard Briggs has declined to say how the fatal attack
There were no visitors near the enclosure at the time Oz the Sumatran tiger attacked the experienced
Hamilton Zoo is the city's
The zoo, which is owned by Hamilton City Council, also has New Zealand's largest collection of endangered species.
In 2014, the city council revealed plans to reinvent the zoo, including a proposal to reintroduce lions back to the site.
"If the investigation into this death finds that it was a simple accident, it may put the zoo at the forefront of people's minds and people will want to help make things better. However if this death occurred because of negligence, then everything's in trouble," Antle said.
Allan Halse worked at the city council in 2013 and served as a Public Service Association (PSA) convenor of delegates.
Halse said both tiger incidents involved experienced keepers and he believed key learnings had not been captured in 2013.
"If the council followed the Health and Safety Act then you should have no fatalities in the workplace. I've made myself available to Worksafe NZ because I think it's vital that investigators look at the whole picture, not just what happened yesterday [Sunday]," Halse said.
Meanwhile, in a statement, council's community general manager Lance Vervoort said Oz would not be euthanised.
The decision was made by senior zoo staff.
"Oz is a significant animal for his species. He is the father of our two cubs, and he is vital to the ongoing breeding programme to conserve this rare species," Vervoort said.
The Sumatran tiger is a rare sub-species of the tiger and only 500 exist in the wild.
FAMILY STATEMENT
Samantha Kudeweh was a "passionate conservationist" who at a young age told her parents she would one day work in the zoo industry.
The family of the Hamilton Zoo curator gathered at her Waikato home after news of her death became public on Sunday.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Samantha Kudeweh's colleague Catherine Nichols, who also works at Hamilton Zoo, said in a statement, the extended Kudeweh family wanted to thank the public and the international zoo and conservation community for messages of support.
Samantha, 43, was recognised and respected internationally 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 programmes.
Nichols said Kudeweh was an experienced zoo industry professional who had an exceptional reputation following more than 20 years in the conservation and zoo sector.
Her role as
"Samantha was a passionate conservationist, and today her family have recalled how, as an intermediate school student, she told her parents she wanted to work in the zoo sector," said Nichols.
"She was a volunteer at Auckland Zoo for a number of years before joining the staff."
She grew up in
In 2005, the couple moved to Hamilton Zoo, where Samantha Kudeweh started work as the mammals team leader. In
"It gave her the opportunity to become involved in a number of species management programmes, an area of conservation which she had a passion for," the statement said.
She was responsible for managing breeding programmes for a number of species, including the southern white rhino, and was able to influence the zoo sector across Australasia.
She was NZFaunaTAG co-convenor (birds), a nationwide programme to help rebuild populations of native species.
Samantha has two children with her husband, Billy, 9, and Sage, 3.
"The zoo was a crucial part of her life, second only to her family," the statement said.
"She appreciated what her husband called, intelligent humour, and loved the people around her and those she worked alongside."
Family and friends are making arrangements for an appropriate farewell for Samantha Kudeweh.