A Florida zookeeper known
to her colleagues as the “Tiger Whisperer’’ died after she was attacked by a
rare species of tiger Friday, as reported by the New York Post. 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. Apparently that
love was unrequited. “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.” (The tiger, for one, sure had a funny way of showing
it). Authorities are unsure whether this was a crime of passion or a simple
case of a cat-fight gone horribly awry. Nor is it known if the tiger spoke to
Konwiser prior to the attack.
Tragically, her husband, Jeremy, is a trainer at the
zoo.
Incredibly, zoo colleagues who witnessed Stacey being
mauled didn’t want to kill the endangered
animal,
so they tranquilized the tiger and had
to wait until the drugs took effect to reach Konwiser. By that time, it was
too late.
There are fewer than 250 Malayan tigers left in the
world and the zoo participates in a breeding program, Carter said.
There are now
no Stacey Konwisers left in the world. She is extinct, so no breeding
program is possible.
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