Two Hamilton Zoo staff confronted by a tiger who had just mauled their colleague have been recognised for their quick-thinking actions which stopped the tiger escaping its enclosure. Zoo keepers Sarah Jones and Monique Alexander were first to the enclosure of Oz the adult male tiger who had fatally attacked curator Samantha Kudeweh on September 20.
Two Hamilton Zoo staff confronted by a tiger who had just mauled their colleague have been recognised for their quick-thinking actions.
Zoo keepers Sarah Jones and Monique Alexander were first to the enclosure of Oz the adult male tiger who had fatally attacked curator Samantha Kudeweh on September 20.
MrsKudeweh, a mother of two children, died of her injuries at the scene.
At this morning's Waikato police Pay Parade Awards, Ms Jones and Ms Alexander were given bravery awards by Superintendent Bruce Bird.
Ms Jones was recognised for her heroic actions in extracting Oz from the scene with his favourite toy, while Ms Alexander tended to her critically injured colleague.
In a statement from the Hamilton City Council on behalf of the two women, the pair said they were "very humbled by the recognition".
"Sam's death was an extremely traumatic and distressing experience for the both of us. We have been trained in how to deal with an incident like this and when we discovered Sam we put that training into effect.
"With a number of investigations still under way we don't think it's appropriate to discuss the details of that day any further. We all miss Sam greatly each and every day, but due to the brilliant zoo team she created we are a strong and supportive zoo family at this tragic and devastating time."
