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Tiger Who Mauled Zookeeper Dies During Surgery

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WEST PALM BEACH (CBSMiami/AP) — A tiger that killed a Palm Beach zoo employee died during a surgical procedure.

Nancy Nill, an associate curator at The Palm Beach Zoo, said that Hati, their 14-year-old Malayan tiger, underwent surgery last week for "irritations in his guts." On Thursday, the tiger stopped breathing during a second surgery and couldn't be revived. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.

The 350-pound tiger, who was known to be aggressive and territorial, fatally injured zookeeper Stacy Konwiser on April 15, 2016, after she walked into a caged area called a "night house."

A state report released in October blamed Konwiser for not following "established safety procedures and exonerated the zoo of wrongdoing.

Nill says Hati has suffered from a range of illnesses since April.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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