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Nina Blakeman (right) of the Palm Beach Zoo receives a hug after zookeeper Stacey Konwiser’s death. Picture: Damon Higgins / Palm Beach Post via AP)
A Florida zookeeper known to her colleagues as the “Tiger Whisperer’’ died after she was attacked by a rare species of big cat on Friday.
Stacey Konwiser, lead tiger keeper at the Palm Beach Zoo, was killed by a 13-year-old Malayan tiger while she worked with him in an area off-limits to the public.
“She loved tigers,’’ zoo spokeswoman Naki Carter told the Palm Beach Post. “You don’t get into this business without the love for the Âanimals and understanding the danger that’s involved.
“I kind of referred to her as a tiger whisperer,†she added.
“They spoke to each other in a language that only they could understand. And I can’t put into words or make you understand for anyone who didn’t know Stacey how much she loved these tigers and how much this zoo family loved her.â€
Her husband, Jeremy, is a trainer at the zoo.
Zoo colleagues tranquillised the Âtiger and had to wait until the drugs took effect to reach Konweiser.
There are fewer than 250 Malayan tigers left in the world and the zoo participates in a breeding program, Carter said.
This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.