A rare Royal White Tiger has mauled a senior cat handler to death at a New Zealand Wildlife Centre.

Just three months after the victim, Dalu Mncube, saved his own colleague from a savage attack by the same tiger, he was viciously mauled to death by the rare animal at the Zion Wildlife Centre on the North Island.

Mncube suffered serious injuries to his legs and abdomen and despite the desperate efforts by a fellow keeper to save him by using a stick and a fire extinguisher; he died at the scene before the ambulance arrived.

The tiger named Abu, having attacked previously was kept away from the general public due to its nervous disposition.

The centre was already under investigation over concerns for the welfare of its animals, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) concerned that the large cats were kept in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.

At one point MAF were considering closing the Wildlife Centre down due to safety barriers in a state of disrepair and the worry that lions and tigers were kept in the same enclosures, however the centre made improvements to the park.

The Wildlife centre is co-operating fully with the investigation by Police and the Department of labour in New Zealand and the park owners expressed distress at the “absolutely tragic event.”

Mr Mncube leaves behind a partner and one year old daughter. The tiger has since been destroyed.