Hamilton women humbled by bravery awards

Hamilton women humbled by bravery awards

Two Hamilton Zoo staff members who put their lives on the line trying to save fellow keeper Samantha Kudewah have been recognised by police for their bravery.

Sarah Jones and Monique Alexander tried to intervene as Oz the tiger mauled their colleague to death.

And while they couldn't save her, their actions may have saved others.

Ms Jones and Ms Alexander say they miss their colleague every day.

But today at Waikato's police bravery awards, they received a small token for their actions.

"Sarah and Monique – just unbelievable what they did, to go into that enclosure with a tiger notoriously unpredictable," said District Commander Bruce Bird. "I just want to take my hat off to them."

An experienced keeper, 43-year-old Ms Kudewah was killed in Oz's enclosure in September. Why she was in there alone is still the subject of several investigations.

Ms Jones is credited with luring the animal away before it could harm anyone else.

Ms Jones' actions in distracting the animal with its favourite toy, luring it away from the scene and locking it away showed a cool presence of mind and prevented further risk to the public.

Ms Alexander attempted to save the life of her critically injured friend with first-aid.

"Anyone that makes that sacrifice and makes that decision that could jeopardise their own life deserves to be recognised," says Mr Bird.

Both women say they're humbled by their bravery award after what was an extremely distressing and traumatic experience. But they're unable to front on camera. Their employer, Hamilton City Council, which runs the zoo, is still under investigation by WorkSafe New Zealand.

Safety measures have been stepped up since the death of Ms Kudewah – a passionate zoo mentor and young mother.

Among the measures is that a second keeper must act as an observer while tiger management tasks are underway.

Next year's coroner's inquest and WorkSafe's investigation will decide whether more is needed to keep zoo staff safe in the future.

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