DENVER -- The Denver Zoo is investigating the death of an employee who was attacked by a jaguar in the doorway of its exhibit Saturday morning.

The zoo reopened Sunday, but the feline building remained closed during the investigation.

The cat was fatally shot when it approached emergency workers trying to save the woman, zoo officials said.

The zoo closed after Saturday's incident.

"We are deeply saddened by this loss," zoo President and CEO Clayton Freiheit said in a statement. "This keeper was a part of our family and we too are grieving the loss of one of our own."

The zookeeper was identified as Ashlee Pfaff, 27. She had worked for the Denver Zoo for about a year. 7NEWS has learned Pfaff has family in Rio Rancho, N.M.

The Denver County Coroner said Pfaff's death was due to injuries to the neck, spinal column and spinal cord.

The zookeeper was attacked when she opened the door to the jaguar's indoor enclosure, zoo spokeswoman Ana Bowie said.

Under zoo policy, staff members cannot be in any large cat exhibit when the animal is present.

"The keeper should have never been inside the exhibit working with the animal," Bowie said. "That's what is particularly unusual here, is how did she end up in that same space with that animal."

Pfaff died at Denver General Hospital about 90 minutes after the attack, zoo officials said.

"She was an experienced animal keeper," Bowie said. "This wasn't like it was her first job working with cats. She was experienced."

Pfaff had undergone regular safety training for the exhibit, shadowed veteran keepers and attended mandatory safety meetings, officials said.

"We have a system of transfer chutes and holding areas, where if she needs to go in and clean one part of the animal's habitat, that animal is transferred to the other side. A protective barrier is there," Bowie said.

The Denver Zoo said "Staff, according to emergency protocols, immediately responded to the exhibit with weapons"

The staff members tried to use a fire extinguisher first to keep the jaguar away from the injured zookeeper. When the jaguar approached, he was shot and killed to protect the keeper, according to a statement.

"Staff could not use a tranquilizer to sedate the animal as it would have taken at least three to five minutes to take effect. The first priority was to try and save the life of the keeper and protect those trying to save her." said Tiffany Barnhard, of the Denver Zoo.

The Denver Zoo said it is taking every safety precaution and said in a statement: "It is with utmost sympathy that our condolences go out to this zookeeper's family and loved ones."

The jaguar, a 6-year-old male named Jorge, was shot by a zoo employee and the public was never at risk, according to the zoo. The cat had been at the Denver Zoo for nearly two years. The cat had no history of abnormal behavior, a zoo spokeswoman said Sunday.

The zoo added a 16-month-old female jaguar named Caipora in December, according to its Web site. The female was to be paired with Jorge when she was old enough.

Animal behaviorists said there could be several reasons for the attack, saying the big cat may have felt threatened or territorial, or it may have been a predatory attack.

"Unfortunately, it's just human nature sometimes to get distracted, get in a hurry, not be carefully watching what the animal is trying to tell you through its body language," said Dr. Suzanne Hetts.

Hetts added that no matter how experienced a handler is, wild animals are unpredictable.

Nick Sculac, director of Big Cats of Serenity Springs, a rescue center 50 miles southwest of Denver, described jaguars as unpredictable and mean, with powerful jaws and tremendous strength.

"They actually are the most unpredictable animals around," said Sculac, who said he worked with jaguars for 15 years as a trainer for movies and TV commercials.

Bowie said zoo staffers were devastated by the incident and police called in victims' advocates to help them deal with the shock and sadness.

"These keepers are incredible professionals. They care for these animals and they have to be cared for through their grief," she said.

Jaguars typically weigh 124 to 211 pounds but can sometimes weigh up to 325 pounds. Their lifespan is 12 to 15 years.

There are believed to be fewer than 50,000 mature breeding jaguars in the wild, and about 100 are in accredited North American zoos.

Animal activist Meriel Drummond said she thought there should have been an alternative to killing the cat.

"To kill an animal because it is acting as a wild animal when they are by nature, wild, seems kind of unfair," she said.

Drummond added that it was a sad situation all around, and that her prayers were with the zookeeper's family.

Zoo visitors erected makeshift memorials outside of the zoo and near the jaguar's cage. They left flowers and cards in memory of the zookeeper and the cat.

Nanny Ashley Campbell brought two children to the zoo Sunday who wanted to see the big cats.

"It's still very sad because they don't understand," Campbell said. "It just seems really tragic to me, and you wonder what happened."

Keete Meyer brought her three children to the zoo on Sunday.

"We didn't know about it until we got here. We're very surprised," she said. "We came here to look at the tigers and the jaguars, and then one of the ladies told me what happened to the zookeeper. Very sad."

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