You thought Matt Damon’s most dangerous movies were the Jason Bourne flicks? Turns out We Bought A Zoo is where the movie star might have been in real trouble. At least if Damon’s zoo had been like the Palm Beach Zoo, where 38-year-old tiger keeper Stacey Konwiser was killed by a rare Malayan tiger on Friday afternoon, according to local Palm Beach news sources.
The attack took place out of sight of zoo visitors — in an area meant just for the animals and trainers. The tiger was subsequently “tranquilized and contained.” The Malayan tiger that attacked and killed Konwiser was a long way from home. Malayan tigers, once thought to be Indochinese tigers, were reclassified in 2004 after DNA testing proved they were a unique subspecies. The WWF reports that the endangered Malayan tigers are found “only on the Malay Peninsula and in the southern tip of Thailand.” There are thought to be fewer than 350 Malayan tigers left in the world. Konwiser had worked at the Palm Beach Zoo for three years. The zoo will be closed at least through the weekend.
