Joaquin Gutierrez Arnaiz, 44, was hit by an African elephant weighing 4,000 kilograms (4.4 tonnes) in the Cabarceno Nature Park in Cantabria, northern Spain, on Wednesday.
Guttierez Arnaiz was rushed to the Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital, where he died of his injuries.
At the time of the accident, the team was cleaning the elephant complex.
Local police, the Civil Guard and the zoo are investigating the incident.
Francisco Javier Lopez Marcano, Cantabria’s Minister of Tourism, said in a statement to Spanish media that the elephant that struck Guttierez Arnaiz had a foot infection and was probably pregnant.
The keeper was in the outer courtyard area, washing the surfaces and monitoring how the animal’s foot was healing. The elephant was with its calf at the time.
“We are talking about highly unpredictable animals,” said Lopez Marcano, adding: “The force of the attack was tremendous, on a scale that none of us could survive.”
He blamed the events for the lack of caution. “It is an accident from the beginning caused by someone who, following his daily routine, trusted too much in a fatal moment,” he said.
“That is the only reason why perhaps in certain circumstances such a tragedy could occur,” added Lopez Marcano.
According to the regional government of Cantabria, this is the first fatal accident in the zoo’s 30-year history.