In a seemingly inexplicable series of actions, zookeeper Stacey Feige Konwiser on April 15 secured a portion of the tiger night house at the Palm Beach Zoo with a tiger inside it — and then entered it, sealing her death.
The revelation came from statements late Friday by Andrew Aiken, the zoo's president and chief executive – his first since the death of the zoo's lead keeper a week ago.
Citing the “facts as we know them,” Aiken said that there is no mystery as to how a 13-year-old male Malayan tiger delivered the fatal neck injury to one of the zoo’s most valued and loved employees.
What was not known Friday was whether Konwiser’s actions were deliberate or accidental. They were, however, in violation of zoo policy, Aiken said, and marked the first time an animal had killed a person in the zoo’s 60-year history.
“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 in which a tiger had access?” Aiken said.
Aiken issued his statement on zoo letterhead and answered a series of questions posed to him by The Palm Beach Post.
“Why or how this could possibly occur is the subject of five ongoing investigations, including our own,” Aiken’s statement said.
Calling the 37-year-old Konwiser one of the zoo’s “most senior and experienced animal experts,” Aiken said she secured part of the night house, where tigers sleep and are fed, with a tiger in it, and then entered that same portion after it was clearly designated as accessible by a tiger.
“Under Palm Beach Zoo policy, zoo employees are never allowed to enter a tiger enclosure to which the animal has access,” Aiken said.
He said the tiger was never outside its enclosure or the animal containment portion of the night house. The zoo said Konwiser was alone, which is in compliance with existing standards from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, which awards the zoo its accreditation.
“As our entire zoo family continues to grieve the loss of our beloved colleague, the zoo has instituted an interim two-person system for moving tigers in the night house,” Aiken said.
Aiken also clarified that although the night house has video surveillance cameras, they only are activated when the zoo have newborn tiger cubs.
Konwiser knew better than anybody else the zoo's policy regarding tigers. She helped write the standard operating procedure. Her husband, Jeremy Konwiser, also worked as a keeper at the zoo.
Aiken said the zoo recently started offering guests to the zoo the opportunity to enter the night house for an additional cost. All tours, he said, were carefully monitored and supervised. All of these animal “encounters” have been temporarily suspended, but the zoo expects to resume all talks, tours and encounters at an appropriate time, Aiken said.
The zoo stated after the fatal incident that Konwiser was readying to give a “tiger talk” for visitors. She had told the zoo that she had accepted another position with U.S. Food & Drug Administration and was to start next month. The zoo had hoped to keep her employed and was readying a counteroffer.
The zoo is doing its own internal investigation and meeting with other staffers. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, West Palm Beach police, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are investigating “every aspect of this tragic loss.”
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