Florida zoo took 11 minutes to sedate tiger that mauled keeper

Medics finally reached dying employee 17 minutes after attack

BY Meg Wagner

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

 

It took a Florida zoo 11 minutes to tranquilize a tiger that attacked his zookeeper — meaning the medics couldn’t reach the dying “Tiger Whisperer” until 17 minutes after the vicious attack, records showed.   
Palm Beach Zoo tiger keeper Stacey Konwiser was mauled to death on April 15 after she went inside the tiger enclosure while the big cats still had access to it.
The Malayan tiger pounced at 1:55 p.m., records obtained by WPTV showed, but the big cat wasn’t sedated until 2:06 p.m. — and emergency responders couldn’t get to the dying zookeeper until 2:12 p.m., when the drugs finally knocked the creature out.
Someone called 911 seconds after the tiger attack, and West Palm Beach emergency dispatch teams arrived at the zoo gates at 2:01 p.m.
“Tiger is still not contained. We’re on the outer gates standing by for zoo personnel,” a paramedic said, according to emergency dispatch recordings.

Bruce R. Bennett/ZUMA24.com

Palm Beach Zoo tiger keeper Stacey Konwiser was mauled to death by one of the big cats earlier this month.

A second wave of police officers got there two minutes later at 2:03 p.m.
But it wasn’t until 2:06 p.m. — 11 minutes after the tiger first attacked Konwiser — that the animal was hit with a tranquillizer dart.
“Animal has been tranquilized. We’re waiting for it to take effect before we’re going to enter,” a paramedic said at 2:06 p.m.
The drugs finally kicked in at 2:12 p.m., rendering the animal unconscious. Emergency crews finally reached Konwiser 17 minutes after she was mauled. The 38-year-old was rushed to a local hospital, where she died from a neck injury, officials said.

Brianna Soukup/AP

Konwiser, known as “the Tiger Whisperer,” was airlifted to a hospital, where she died.

The zoo has come under fire since the attack for its decision to sedate — and not shoot — the attacking animal. The facility had both tranquilizing darts and bullets.
Zoo officials said they picked sedation over shooting after they took guest safety, the possibility of bullet ricochet and the size of the enclosure into consideration.
“We stand by our decision to tranquilize the tiger involved in the incident,” the zoo said in a statement.
Last week, the zoo said Konwiser broke the facility’s safety policy when she went into the tiger enclosure while the big cats still had access to it. Zoo protocols forbid employees from entering the tigers’ habitat while the animals are inside of it.

Damon Higgins/AP

Police officers enter the administration building at the Palm Beach Zoo after zookeeper Stacey Konwiser died while being attacked by a tiger earlier this month.

“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?” the zoo’s President and CEO Andrew Aiken asked in a statement.
Konwiser, known as the "Tiger Whisperer," worked at the zoo for three years.
Her husband, Jeremy Konwiser, is also an employee at the Florida animal facility. The two met while working at a California zoo, according to a biography posted on the Palm Beach Zoo’s Facebook page.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and several local agencies are investigating the Friday attack. The zoo is also conducting its own investigation.
“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,” zoo representatives said.

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