Keeper shouldn't have been in cage

Zookeeper Samantha Kudeweh should never have been in the same cage as the tiger which killed her, Hamilton Zoo says.

The zookeeper fatally mauled by a tiger at Hamilton's zoo in New Zealand shouldn't have been in the cage at the same time, the zoo says.

The zoo Zoo has reopened, four days after 43-year-old Samantha Kudeweh was killed by Oz, one of the enclosure's five endangered Sumatran tigers.

Hamilton City Council community manager Lance Vervoort wouldn't go into what is believed to have happened while it was being investigated when he addressed a media conference ahead of the opening.

Some circumstances may never be known, he said.

The zoo was not aware of any witnesses and it wasn't caught on CCTV.

"Essentially she was in an enclosure area where there was a male tiger and that shouldn't have happened."

In 2013, another tiger took a swipe at a keeper after it got into an enclosure because a door had accidentally been left open. Since then the zoo had ordered there should always should be two gates between a keeper and an animal.

Following Sunday's death, a second keeper would now act as an observer, Mr Vervoort said.

Oz would not be put down, because it was an important member of species down to 350 worldwide, but the zoo was not thinking about sending him to another zoo.

The tiger was not being treated any differently and would be let out into the normal viewing enclosure over the weekend.

"Staff want what is best for the species," Mr Vervoort said.

Ms Kudeweh had worked in zoos and animal conservation for 20 years. She worked for Australia's Zoos Victoria before returning to New Zealand and Hamilton Zoo in 2005. She was promoted to zoo curator in 2011.

She was married to fellow zoo professional Richard Kudeweh and had two children Billy, nine, and Sage, three.

Her funeral service will be held on Monday at Hamilton Gardens and zookeepers from Australia are expected to attend.

The zoo may look at permanent memorial to her, Mr Vervoort said.