A 400-pound tiger that mauled a man who jumped from a moving monorail train and plummeted over a protective fence at the Bronx Zoo will not be euthanized and "did nothing wrong," the zoo director said. 
 
 The ticket booths are empty and the gates are chained shut at an entrance to the Bronx Zoo in New York, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Zoo officials say a visitor who leaped into an exhibit and was mauled by... (Associated Press) 
 
 Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny speaks to the media during a news conference, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, in New York. A visitor to the zoo was mauled by a tiger after he leaped from an elevated monorail train... (Associated Press) 
 
 CORRECTS THAT MAN DID NOT LOSE LEG, ADDS NEW INFO ON HIS CONDITION- FILE- In this Sept. 20, 2010 photo provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society, three Amur tiger cubs rest by a fallen tree limb at... (Associated Press) 
 
 The mauling happened Friday afternoon in the Wild Asia exhibit, where a train with open sides takes visitors over the Bronx River and through a forest, where they glide along the top edge of a fence past elephants, deer and a tiger enclosure. 
 
 Passengers aren't strapped in on the ride, and the man apparently jumped out of his train car with a leap powerful enough to clear the 16-foot-high perimeter fence. 
 
 The 25-year-old man was alone with a male Siberian tiger named Bashuta for about 10 minutes before he was rescued by zoo officials, who used a fire extinguisher to chase the animal away, said zoo director Jim Breheny. He suffered bites and punctures on his arms, legs, shoulders and back and broke an arm and a leg. 
 
 "When someone is determined to do something harmful to themselves," Breheny said, "it's very hard to stop that." 
 
 Bashuta was returned to a holding area where it usually sleeps at night and will not be euthanized, zoo officials said. 
 
 "The tiger did nothing wrong in this episode," Breheny said. 
 
 A hospital spokeswoman said the man was in stable condition Friday night, but his family has requested that no further information be released. 
 
 "If not for the quick response by our staff and their ability to perform well in emergency situations, the outcome would have been very different," Breheny said. 
 
 After zoo staff chased the tiger off, the man was instructed to roll under an electrified wire to get to safety, Breheny said. Zookeepers then called the tiger into a holding area, he said. 
 
 Bashuta is 11 years old and has been at the zoo for three years. 
 
 The Bronx Zoo, one of the nation's largest zoos, sprawls over 265 acres and contains hundreds of animals, many in habitats meant to resemble natural settings. Its exhibits include Tiger Mountain, Congo Gorilla Forest and World of Reptiles. 
 
 There are 10 tigers at the Wild Asia exhibit, but Bashuta was the only one on display at the time. There are no surveillance cameras in that area of the exhibit. 
 
 Zoo officials said they would review safety procedures but stressed that the situation was unusual. 
 
 "We review everything, but we honestly think we provide a safe experience," Breheny said. "And this is just an extraordinary occurrence ... somebody was deliberately trying to endanger themselves." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Tom Hays and David B. Caruso contributed to this report. ||||| When a Malayan tiger — an endangered cat that can grow to nearly 300 pounds — attacked Palm Beach Zoo keeper Stacey Konwiser last Friday, zoo officials had two options: They could use deadly force on the tiger, or they could tranquilize him. 
 
 Attempting to fatally shoot an animal that's mauling a human comes with the risk of accidentally shooting the person you're trying to save. But tranquilizers can take as long as 10 minutes to kick in, letting potentially life-saving minutes tick by while the animal is still alert enough to pose a threat. 
 
 Palm Beach Zoo chose to tranquilize the tiger, and Konwiser, 38, was airlifted in critical condition to a hospital, where she later died of her injuries. 
 
 Stacey Konwiser. Joe Forzano / Palm Beach Post via ZUMA 
 
 Since then, the zoo has come under fire for its choice to "tranq," which West Palm Beach police say prevented paramedics from immediately entering the zoo enclosure where Konwiser was mauled. Neither police nor the zoo have said how long emergency personnel had to wait, citing the ongoing investigation. 
 
 Related: Florida Zookeeper Killed by Tiger to Be Memorialized by 5K Run 
 
 The zoo stands by its decision, Palm Beach Zoo spokeswoman Naki Carter told NBC News on Thursday. 
 
 Play Facebook 
 
 Twitter 
 
 Embed Zoo Assisting in Investigation Into the Death of Keeper Killed by Tiger 2:40 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog 
 
 "We are equipped to tranquilize and we are equipped to shoot to kill," Carter said. "There are a lot of things to consider." 
 
 The kind of ammunition that would have taken down the animal "comes with a series of checks and balances," she added. "All those things have to be factored in. And based on what we know at this time, we are equipped to do both, and we stand by the decision to tranq." 
 
 Fatal attacks on humans by big cats in captivity have happened before: Since 1990, there have been 24 such deaths in the U.S., according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund. 
 
 All accredited zoos such as Palm Beach's have protocols in place for when an animal threatens zoo staff or the public. 
 
 "I think it would be helpful if you view this to how a police officer would react if he or she is confronted with a dangerous individual. There is a decision tree, or a progressive use of force, that has to be considered with every incident," Ed Hansen, CEO of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, told NBC News. 
 
 Related: Zoo Where Keeper Was Mauled Has Had Other Incidents 
 
 Zoos have trained shooters who are educated on weapon caliber, use of force, and circumstances under which to discharge weapons. 
 
 "The first item is, is the animal contained?" Hansen said. In the Palm Beach Zoo case, it was: Konwiser was in an enclosure where the tigers typically eat and sleep, and the tiger never posed danger to the public. "The second item is, can you separate the dangerous animal from the victim?" 
 
 Officials can create distance from an animal using non-lethal means, such as spraying a fire extinguisher at it. If that's not possible — not enough information has been released about Konwiser's situation to know — "this is where it gets very, very tricky," Hansen said. 
 
 "You have to use a high-caliber weapon, a rifle or a shotgun" to humanely kill the tiger, he said. "If you were looking at a small space, concrete construction holding area, you may not want to discharge a high-caliber weapon in that environment because it may ricochet or cause further complications. You could injure the shooter or additionally injure the victim." 
 
 “ There's an old saying that you can take an animal out of the wild, but you can never take the wild out of the tiger.” 
 
 At Zoo Miami, where an animal keeper was killed by a tiger in 1994, if a cat or other large carnivore poses an imminent threat to people, "unfortunately that is a death sentence for that animal," communications director Ron Magill told NBC News. 
 
 "Our policy would be yes, if a tiger is on top of a human being here, we're not going to anesthetize it. We're going to shoot it to facilitate rescuing that human as quickly as possible." 
 
 "Seconds count in trying to save someone's life," he added. 
 
 David Hitzig, the executive director of the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter, Florida, echoed that. 
 
 "Human life is always going to take precedence," he told NBC News. "You always want the opportunity to be able to tranquilize the animal ... But when you run into a situation where obviously you have human life in jeopardy, whether it's in a confined area or whether you have an animal escape and you're not in control of the situation, then you have to look at lethal means." 
 
 The experts all agree that Konwiser's death wasn't the tiger's fault. The sound of her rustling inside the enclosure could have surprised him, or he may have even been playing when he killed her. 
 
 "There's an old saying that you can take an animal out of the wild, but you can never take the wild out of the tiger," Magill said. "This is a constant danger that exists within our job." 
 
 There would be no reason to euthanize this tiger now, after the fact, because if proper zoo protocols are followed, he is no more dangerous to humans than any other big cat, Magill added. 
 
 "The tiger was being a tiger. He wasn't a mean tiger, he wasn't a bad tiger," he said. "He was a tiger." 
 
 Agencies including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating Konwiser's death. ||||| (CNN) A keeper at the Palm Beach Zoo died Friday afternoon after being attacked by a rare kind of tiger, zoo spokeswoman Naki Carter said. 
 
 Stacey Konwiser, 38, lead tiger keeper at the zoo, was killed by a 13-year-old male Malayan tiger, one of four at the facility, in the contained area where the animals are fed and sleep, Carter said. 
 
 Zoo officials said it didn't appear Konwiser did anything out of the norm as she worked in the enclosure, known as the tiger night house, and prepared to talk with zoo visitors about the animals in a "Tiger Talk." 
 
 The tiger was off-exhibit at the time and no guests could see what happened, Carter said. The tiger was never on the loose, contrary to early reports on social media, she said. 
 
 West Palm Beach police said the tiger was tranquilized and officers waited until the drugs took effect before they could reach the victim, CNN affiliate WPEC reported. Konwiser was taken by helicopter to St. Mary's Medical Center. 
 
 'A tiger whisperer' 
 
 Konwiser had worked three years at the zoo and was very experienced with tigers, Carter said. Her husband, Jeremy Konwiser, is also a trainer at the zoo. 
 
 "This was her specialty," she said. "She loved tigers. You don't get into this business without the love for the animals and understanding the danger that's involved even more." 
 
 Konwiser had a special bond with the big cats, Carter told the Palm Beach Post. 
 
 "I kind of referred to her as a tiger whisperer," she said. "They spoke to each other in a language that only they could understand. And I can't put into words or make you understand for anyone who didn't know Stacey how much she loved these tigers and how much this zoo family loved her. And while she's no longer with us, her memory will live on." 
 
 Konwiser graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor's degree in biology and received her master's degree in conservation biology from the University of Queensland in Australia, the Palm Beach Zoo's official Facebook page said. 
 
 OSHA will investigate 
 
 Stacey Konwiser, 38, was lead keeper at the zoo. 
 
 Malayan tigers are a critically endangered subspecies . The Palm Beach Zoo provides a special program in which guests can pay extra to see the tigers. 
 
 There are less than 250 left in the world, Carter said. The zoo is part of a breeding program that aims to keep the animals from becoming extinct. Carter would not comment about the condition of the tiger except to say it has been contained. The investigation is ongoing and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is taking over. 
 
 When the attack happened about 2 p.m., guests at the zoo were ushered into the gift shop before being told the zoo was closed for the day. 
 
 "This is my first time at the zoo," one zoo visitor, Beverly Johnson of Fort Pierce, told the Palm Beach Post. "I wasn't expecting this." 
 
 The zoo was evacuated and will be closed all weekend. 
 
 'They are trained to feel like that's their territory' 
 
 Dave Salmoni, the large predator expert for Animal Planet, said he was not surprised such an attack happened in the tiger night house. 
 
 "Typically, zoo cats, that's where they feel most comfortable," Salmoni said on "Anderson Cooper 360." "They are trained to feel like that's their territory. So when you talk about acts of aggression or acts of dominance, which this might have been either, that would be the most likely place for something like this." 
 
 Salmoni said people who work with big cats understand and accept the danger. 
 
 "It's heartbreaking to hear about a story of someone who loves an animal so much," he said. "I can relate. The same thing could possibly happen to me tomorrow." 
 
 PETA criticizes zoo 
 
 People for Ethical Treatment of Animals issued a statement criticizing the zoo. 
 
 "Today's incident is only the latest in a long list of fatal maulings around the world, and that list will continue to grow as long as tigers and other exotic animals are locked in cages and compounds for human amusement," said PETA Foundation Deputy Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. 
 
 "In nature, tigers have home ranges of hundreds of miles, so it's no wonder that confining them to small spaces causes them to lash out in the frustration, stress, anxiety and agitation that they suffer when they're denied their freedom and the ability to behave normally in every way — including choosing their mates, raising their young and seeking privacy from prying eyes. 
 
 "PETA sends our condolences to the zookeeper's family and hopes that this incident will save human lives in the future by making zoos everywhere reconsider the confinement of big cats and other wildlife." 
 
 A zookeeper at my local zoo just got killed by a tiger and I'm crying bc I feel so bad for the woman and her fam and actually the tiger too — ✨ (@instagramslut) April 15, 2016 
 
 Zoo issues statement 
 
 The zoo issued a statement Friday night and posted it on the zoo website 
 
 "This marks the first death of a human involved in an animal incident in the history of Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society. Grief counselors remain available to zoo staff affected by this tragic incident. Our focus remains on providing the adequate support for our staff and family members who have been affected by this tragic incident. 
 
 "This is a very difficult situation for all zoo staff, family members of Konwiser, her family and the extended zoo family. We ask the media and public to respect the privacy of those involved during this difficult time." 
 
 Other recent attacks by big cats 
 
 • In January, a keeper was severely injured at In January, a keeper was severely injured at an Australian zoo founded by the late wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin 
 
 • In June 2015, police shot and killed In June 2015, police shot and killed a white tiger that killed a man in Tbilisi, Georgia , after severe flooding allowed hundreds of wild animals to escape the city zoo. 
 
 • In 2007, In 2007, an escaped Siberian tiger attacked and killed one zoo patron and injured two others in a cafe at the San Francisco Zoo.
– Bronx Zoo officials say they won't euthanize a tiger that mauled an apparently suicidal visitor yesterday. The 25-year-old victim survived, though the Daily News says he might lose one of his legs. He horrified fellow riders on the zoo's monorail when he jumped off the ride and into the tigers' den. There, a 400-pound male Siberian tiger mauled him until zookeepers moved the animal away with a fire extinguisher, reports AP. The man then rolled under an electrified wire to safety. "The tiger did nothing wrong," said the zoo's director. "When someone is determined to do something harmful to themselves it's very hard to stop that." The New York Post and others have identified the victim as David Villalobos and note that his Facebook page shows that he's an animal lover. In fact, he posted a photo of a mother tiger licking its baby this week. Villalobos was in stable condition this morning.