Tiger that killed Palm Beach zookeeper had grown up at Zoo Miami

Hati, the tiger that killed his handler in the Palm Beach Zoo last Friday, grew up in Zoo Miami and only moved to Palm Beach last year.

The Malayan tiger lived at the South Dade zoo for 11 years, arriving in 2004, Zoo Miami communications director Ron Magill said.

On Friday, Hati attacked and killed zookeeper Stacey Konwiser, 38, in the tiger night house, a private back room. Palm Beach County Medical Examiner Michael Bell told the The Palm Beach Post that Konwiser was killed by a neck injury. Bell didn’t expand, but Magill said that means “a bite with the large canines through the neck.”

Magill said that’s the way tigers, “finely tuned killing machines,” attack. He recalled the 1994 death of Metrozoo trainer David Marshall, who was mauled by a 350-pound white Bengal tiger.

Magill remembered Hati.

“Hati was a typical, dominant male tiger, a very dangerous animal,” Magill said. “All of us knew if he ever had an opportunity to get you, he could get you.’’

While Magill made clear that all male tigers are territorial, Hati possessed those characteristics in the extreme.

“He always looked at you in a way that made you realize he was keenly observant of everything you did. Hati made clear he wasn’t your friend.’’

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Tiger that killed Palm Beach zookeeper had grown up at Zoo Miami."