LONDON — Staff members at London Zoo were “heartbroken” after a high-risk matchmaking operation involving two rare Sumatran tigers went horribly wrong on Friday. The male’s deadly mauling of the female tiger soon after they met drew an outpouring of reactions on social media.

But one question was paramount: Could the tragedy have been avoided?

The animals had been paired as possible mates as part of a European-wide conservation effort for the critically endangered subspecies. Asim — age 7, confident, handsome, playful — had been shipped in from Demark to meet Melati, a fellow Sumatran who had lived for years at the renowned zoo in Regent’s Park in Central London.

He courted her for 10 days in a separate enclosure, the zoo said — “chuffing” at her and getting used to her sight and scent. Then he finally approached her.

Melati, who had raised five cubs with another tiger, never survived the encounter. She died at 10 years old.