A tiger is dead after being attacked by another at Whangarei's Zion Wildlife Gardens.
The female Bengal tiger, Sita, was killed by a male tiger she had been placed with to mate.
The park said all protocols had been followed and the attack was "uncharacteristic".
A statement from the park said: "The team at Zion know that this is the way of the wild but a death is always difficult to come to terms with. There have been deaths young and old over the years and it is never easy."
The Ministry of Agriculture was advised of Sita's death on Wednesday afternoon but is not investigating.
Ministry senior communications adviser Lisa Gibbison said there had been no breaches of containment or animal welfare standards and requirements associated with the incident.
She said Sita's death had not triggered a need for changes to the monitoring and auditing programme put in place at the park or any specific investigation.
"We maintain regular oversight of the park, and during the next scheduled audit will undertake a review of this incident in accordance with our regular process of auditing against containment and animal welfare requirements. Any issues or concerns raised during this process will be addressed in detail with park management, as they always are," Ms Gibbison said.
She said although the death was regrettable, tigers fighting was not uncommon, in or out of captivity.
Ms Gibbison said the ministry was committed to working with the park to ensure rules regarding the welfare and containment of the animals were met.
The Bengal tigers are the most populous tiger subspecies, with between 2000 and 3000 remaining in the wild and more than 500 in captivity.
Male tigers typically weigh around 230kg while females weigh about 180kg.
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