A 27-year-old woman who graduated Santa Fe High School with relatives in the Albuquerque area was fatally mauled by a 140-pound male jaguar at the Denver Zoo Saturday morning.

Zoo employee Ashlee Pfaff, despite having been trained not to enter the animal's enclosure, apparently had done so. She reportedly opened a door leading from the service area into the enclosure of the 6-year-old jaguar, named Jorge.

Denver Zoo policy forbids staff members from being in any "large cat" exhibit when the animal is present. A zoo visitor saw the attack and screamed for help. Emergency workers responded, trying to save Pfaff, and as the jaguar approached them, it was shot to death.

Pfaff died about 90 minutes after the attack. According to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Denver, Pfaff's death was caused by "injuries to the neck, including blood vessels, spinal column and spinal cord."

Although the investigation is still underway as to what caused the incident, Denver Zoo has found no faulty doors, locks or gates in the exhibit. The zoo has also concluded that the zoo's emergency response teams followed all protocols in their efforts to try and save Pfaff.

"I believe our staff did everything in their power to save Ashlee without harming the jaguar," Dr. Lynn Kramer, vice president for Biological Programs, said. "We regularly practice for these types of situations, hoping we'll never have to actually respond to an emergency."

Denver Zoo conducts "code red" drills a minimum of four times per year. The drills prepare staff to respond to an animal that is potentially dangerous that is in a situation where it could harm a person. Denver Zoo is considered a model for their proactive efforts to train staff on these procedures.

Denver Zoo's top priority is the safety and well-being of our guests, employees and animals. According to zoo regulations, Pfaff underwent the regular safety training for this area, shadowing veteran keepers and attending mandatory safety meetings. She also underwent safety training specific to the Feline Building she was working in when the accident occurred. This included proper safety considerations for the area, shifting and transfer protocols, and exhibit rules and regulations.

According to Wikipedia on the Web, the jaguar "is the third-largest feline after the Siberian tiger and the lion, being on average the largest and most powerful feline in the Western Hemisphere. ... The jaguar is a largely solitary, stalk-and-ambush predator, and is opportunistic in prey selection."

After the attack, the zoo was evacuated. The zoo reopened Sunday, although the feline exhibit was closed.