One of the animal handlers at the Whangarei wildlife park, made famous by the lion-man television series, has been attacked and killed by a white tiger.
The incident was witnessed by 10 tourists, police say the tiger was shot after it dragged the keeper's body away and wouldn't let staff near it.
Glen Holland from the Zion Wildlife Gardens says staff are devastated.
“Staff are devastated, he was a fantastic person and a personal friend, and everyone is devastated clearly,” he says.
Dalu Mncube was a senior handler at the wildlife park, at 11am this morning he was cleaning a cage with another keeper when things went badly wrong.
3 News understands a white Bengal tiger, named Abu attacked Mr Mncube.
The incident occurred in front of 10 horrified onlookers, eight of whom were tourists.
At the time of the attack, one of the keepers did manage to radio for help
Witnesses were removed from the park this afternoon.
3 News believes it is not the first time Abu has struck out. It is understood he is the same tiger who attacked keeper Demetri Price in February this year.
Mr Mncube is said to have had a very special bond with the animals at Zion Wildlife Gardens.
Mr Mncube’s friend, Bill Kaire, performed a blessing at the park in March and says Mr Mncube had a good sense of humour.
“He was the only one who went into the cage with the black panther and as he went in, he was quite a joker, he said, ‘We are the same colour!’.”
Mr Mncube was the park's senior cat handler, and frequently appeared in the television series about the zoo.
In a statement, lion man Craig Busch said he's devastated at Mr Mncube's death.
Mr Busch is currently meeting with the employment relations authority to try and get his job back at the park.
He was sacked late last year when park management claimed he was not doing his job properly, his mother's been in charge ever since.
3 News