The Sumatran tiger that mauled Hamilton zookeeper Samantha Kudeweh will not be euthanised.
Senior zoo staff ruled out killing the endangered tiger, Oz, following his fatal attack on Ms Kudeweh on Sunday.
Hamilton City Council general manager Lance Vervoort assured the public and animal activists that Oz would not be put down after senior zoo staff made the decision on Monday.
"Although there is an inherent risk for zoo professionals who manage big cats like Oz, there is no wider ongoing risk," he said in a statement.
"There is no reason for us to put Oz down."
Almost 5000 people had taken to Facebook to call for the tiger's life to be spared and more than 15,000 had signed a petition on change.org to save him.
Mr Vervoort said the widely held view among zoo staff was Oz's attack on Samantha was in line with his natural instincts.
"This is our call, and the decision on Oz rested solely with us.
"Oz is a significant animal for his species. He is the father of our two cubs, and he is vital to the ongoing breeding program to conserve this rare species."
Earlier on Monday the family of zoo curator Samantha Kudeweh released a statement thanking the public and the global zoo and conservation community for their messages of support.
It said the 43-year-old was recognised and respected globally as a talented, passionate and highly knowledgeable conservation and zoo professional whose expertise and understanding of animals was highly sought after by other zoos and captive animal breeding program.
"Samantha was a passionate conservationist, and today her family have recalled how, as an intermediate school student, she told her parents she wanted to work in the zoo sector," said Ms Kudeweh's colleague Catherine Nichols, speaking on behalf of the family.
"She was a volunteer at Auckland Zoo for a number of years before joining the staff."
Ms Kudeweh was married to fellow zoo professional Richard Kudeweh and had two children Billy, 9, and Sage, 3.
She moved from Auckland Zoo to Hamilton Zoo in 2005 where she started as the mammals team leader.
She was promoted to zoo curator in 2011, achieving one of her professional dreams in a role that gave her the opportunity to become involved in a number of species management programs, an area of conservation for which she had a passion.
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