A Palm Beach Zoo tiger has died from complications during surgery. In April of 2016, the Malayan tiger mauled a Palm Beach Zoo employee who had opened it's cage and entered it alone. The Malayan tiger, named Hati, was 14 years old when his heart stopped during an intestinal surgery. Initially the tiger underwent surgery 9 days prior for gut problems and then had to undergo another when it died on Thursday.
Nancy Nill, the zoo’s associate curator, described how the problem started "Our very observant staff noticed an abnormal bulge in his abdomen and monitored it throughout the day. As it grew larger we determined he needed emergency intervention." One wonders what effect being held captive in a zoo had on the animal's health. Surely the tiger cannot be feeding itself the same diet it would have had in it's natural habitat.
Despite killing one of the Palm Beach Zoo staff only a year ago, employees at the zoo still did their best to maintain the captive tiger's health. The staff member who died in the attack was named Stacey Konwiser and according to the CEO of the zoo the exact reason as to why she was in the clearly marked cage to begin with is unknown other than she was preparing for a tiger show later that day. Konwiser had to unlock two locks on multiple gates to get in to the tigers enclosure and signs warning of the danger. Konwiser died from bite injuries to her neck and several lacerations were found on her body, now no one else can suffer her same fate.
