Tiger Kills New Zealand Zookeeper

A zookeeper in New Zealand is dead after the Sumatran tiger she was caring for attacked her.

The victim was identified as Samantha Kudeweh, who had the title of Zoo Curator at the Hamilton Zoo and had worked with and around animals for more than 20 years, according to the New Zealand Herald. She was 43-years-old.

The exact circumstances surrounding the tragedy are unknown, and the zoo will be closed well into next week as an investigation takes place. The investigation will involve local police, Worksafe NZ, a workplace safety regulatory agency of the New Zealand government and the Ministry of Primary Industries, another government agency involved in regulating business practices in the island nation.

The zoo was closed immediately after the incident, which took place shortly after 11 a.m. local time. Police were called but the victim was dead by the time they arrived on the scene.

A male tiger named Oz seems to have been the one that killed Kudeweh, but police would not provide details beyond that. It is the first fatal attack on a zoo employee in the Hamilton Zoo's history.

Oz has been placed in an enclosure with another female tiger, and it is unclear if the authorities will destroy the animal, as often happens when animals attack humans.