Northland Coroner Brandt Shortland has confirmed that an African man killed by a white tiger at a Whangarei wildlife park was in New Zealand under a false name and passport.
The cat-handler known as Clifford or Dalu Mncube was also eight years older than he claimed to be.
Police investigating Mr Mncube's identity after his death at Zion Wildlife Gardens in 2009 found discrepancies surrounding his name, age and country of origin.
The coroner says Mr Mncube entered South Africa from his native Zimbabwe and gained identity papers and a passport in the name of Clifford Mncube.
But police have confirmed that his real name was Dalubuhle Ncube, and he was born in 1978 not 1986, as his passport said.
Mr Shortland has reserved his findings following a four-day inquest into Mr Ncube's death.
