Tiger escapes S.F. Zoo and attacks visitors

[vivfox]

SAN FRANCISCO - Investigators trying to determine how a tiger escaped its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo — killing one visitor and mauling two others on Christmas — planned a thorough sweep of the zoo grounds Wednesday to look for clues.

Authorities did not believe more people were attacked, but they wanted to inspect the area in the daylight. Zoo officials were still uncertain how long the Siberian tiger, the same one that mauled a zookeeper almost one year earlier, had been loose before being killed by police.

The three men who were attacked while visiting the zoo Tuesday were in their 20s, police spokesman Steve Mannina said. The attack occurred just after the 5 p.m. closing time, on the east end of the 125-acre grounds.
They suffered “pretty aggressive bite marks,� Mannina said.
The zoo was closed Wednesday.

The two injured men were listed in stable condition at San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. John Brown, an emergency room physician, told ABC’s “Good Morning America� on Wednesday they suffered deep bites and claw cuts to their heads, necks, arms and hands.

“These injuries are severe injuries, but they are very treatable, and these two gentlemen seem to be in good health, so I think they have a good chance,� Brown said.

'No way out through the door'
The zoo’s director of animal care and conservation, Robert Jenkins, could not explain how Tatiana escaped. The tiger’s enclosure is surrounded by a 15-foot-wide moat and 20-foot-high walls, and the approximately 300-pound female did not leave through an open door, he said.

“There was no way out through the door,� Jenkins said. “The animal appears to have climbed or otherwise leaped out of the enclosure.�

The first attack happened right outside the Siberian’s enclosure — the victim died at the scene. A group of four officers came across his body when they entered the dark zoo grounds, Mannina said.

The second victim was about 300 yards away, in front of the Terrace Cafe. The man was sitting on the ground, blood running from gashes in his head and Tatiana sitting next to him.

The cat attacked the man again, Mannina said. The officers approached the tiger with their handguns. Tatiana moved in their direction and several of the officers fired, killing the animal.


Only then did they see the third victim, who had also been mauled.

Although no new visitors were let in after 5 p.m. Tuesday, the grounds had not been not scheduled to close until an hour later, and 20 to 25 people were still in the zoo when the attacks happened, zoo officials said. Employees and visitors were told to take shelter when zoo officials learned of the attacks.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22395368/

[skcin]

Scary stuff. I'm ambivalent about animals in zoos. I do enjoy the zoo, but I know that these are wild animals & it's unnatural for them to be confined. On the other hand, the vast majority of animals currently in zoos were NOT born in the wild so it's not like it's a new environment for them - they were born & raised in a zoo & don't know anything else.

Bottom line is that they are animals & animals are unpredictable. I wonder how the tiger got out - sounds like they're not sure.

[suzyvermoesen]

This is just so sad. I feel bad for those people killed and injured but also for the tiger who paid with its life. I too feel it's unnatural to keep animals in zoos, but sometimes it's the only way to preserve a species. Take tigers : there are so few of them left in the wild, they get killed for their fur,teeth,penis even (because it's a socalled afrodisiac) and their natural habitat gets smaller and smaller every year.

[vivfox]

It's hard for me to imagine how it climbed or lept over a 20 foot wall!

[LiamMcConville]

Terrible. But really, who goes to the Zoo on Christmas?

[BombaySapphire3]

The moat of the enclosure is 20 feet and the wall 18.."experts" are saying there is no way the tiger could have scaled these herself and there is a criminal investigation open until authorities determine how the animal escaped.The boy that was killed was only 17 ..very sad all around.

[darklinensuit]

Originally Posted by LiamMcConville

Terrible. But really, who goes to the Zoo on Christmas?

Why not?

- Jake

[David]

Egad. Imagine being rent by a 350-pound Siberian tiger. How awful.

[gldstwmn]

Victims may have dangled leg over tiger's moat, says report

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/27/tig...ack/index.html

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- The father of a teen who was killed by a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo questioned the facility's safety on Thursday, as police reportedly considered whether one of the victims taunted the deadly jungle cat.


The killed teen's father, Carlos Sousa, told CNN on Thursday that the zoo should do more to protect visitors.

1 of 4 Sources close to the investigation told the San Francisco Chronicle that police are probing whether one of the Siberian tiger's three victims climbed over a fence Christmas Day and then dangled a leg or other body part over the moat.

Police said Carlos Sousa, 17, of San Jose was killed just outside the tiger's enclosure. The two others, who were injured, were about 300 yards away by a cafe. Watch more on clues from the deadly attack »

A shoe and blood were found between the fence and the moat, the Chronicle reported, and a footprint has been found on a metal fence at the zoo. The investigation is looking into the possibility that the tiger escaped by latching on to a leg or other body part, the paper reported.

"Somebody created a situation that really agitated [the tiger] and and gave her some method to break her out," zoo director Manuel Mollinedo told the Chronicle. "A couple of feet dangling over the edge could possibly have done it."

But a police sergeant told the paper there was no reason to think the victims were taunting the tiger.

The two survivors were in stable condition Wednesday and doing well, San Francisco General Hospital said.

"We have deemed the site, as of last night, a crime scene," said San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong on Wednesday, and police are working to gather evidence and witness statements.

Mollinedo said officials have not determined how the 300-pound tiger named Tatiana, escaped from her exhibit area and attacked three patrons Tuesday before police shot and killed her.

Sousa's mother Marilza Sousa told CNN on Thursday that Christmas would never be the same for them. "This is supposed to be the day for giving, not to take. And he was taken away from me," she said holding back tears.

The boy's father, also named Carlos, criticized the zoo's safety. "They didn't do enough for the public, because I think the zoo should be protective on both sides, protective for the people and protective for the animals," said the elder Carlos Sousa. Read about other escapes and attacks by captive animals

The head of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums said this was the first-ever visitor fatality due to an animal escape at a zoo accredited by the association.

Ron Magill of Florida's Miami Metrozoo told CNN that the Siberian tiger is "the most powerful cat on the face of this planet."

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Mollinedo was asked about an incident last year, in which Tatiana chewed flesh off a keeper's arm during a public feeding demonstration. Mollinedo said that Tatiana "was acting like a normal tiger" at the time, and that the zoo modified procedures to increase safety.

California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health determined the zoo was at fault because of hazardous conditions in the Lion House and lack of specialized safety training for employees. The zoo made changes that the state safety division ordered. The Lion House, the zoo's big-cat exhibit, was closed for more than six months after that incident.

Sousa's sister Beatrice told CNN Wednesday night that the family has not received information about the investigation. "There's a lot of pain. You know, no words for it. It's just too much," she said. "Our family is very, very hurt."

The zoo was closed Wednesday while officials investigated the tiger attack. Mollinedo said the zoo will probably reopen Thursday, but the Lion House will remain closed "until we get a better understanding of what actually happened."

Tatiana was held in an exhibit area that included a 20-foot moat and an 18-foot wall, Mollinedo said. The 4-year-old tiger was born at the Denver Zoo and came to San Francisco in 2005.

Experts from other zoos will inspect the setup to help suggest modifications to assure safety, he said.

Fong said fire and police responded to emergency calls shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday. When police arrived, they saw the tiger "sitting next to a person on the ground," and the tiger turned back and began attacking the person again, she said.

Officers yelled at the tiger to stop, and did not fire immediately "for fear that they would not be able to contain their fire," she said. "When the yelling was occurring, the animal turned toward the officers," who then shot and killed the animal, Fong said.

Authorities carried out multiple searches to ensure there were no other victims, she said.

The zoo had closed at 5 p.m., and only around 20 people were still there, Mollinedo said.

The other victims of the tiger attack have not been publicly identified.

Dr. Rochelle Dicker, a surgeon at San Francisco General Hospital, said the two "young men" injured are "in very stable condition." In fact, she said, "they look absolutely fantastic."

Doctors are focusing on ensuring that the patients don't develop infections, she said, adding that they "will be on antibiotics for some time.

"By the time they got here, they were very, very stable -- not close to death," Dicker told reporters. "Really, it was just a matter of washing out their wounds."

Jim Maddy, president of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, issued a statement expressing "sympathy to the family of the guest that lost his life, and our deepest hope that the two injured guests will recover."

Maddy called the San Francisco Zoo "great," and noted that it is accredited by the association. "Until this incident, there had not been a visitor fatality resulting from an animal escape at an AZA-accredited zoo.

"AZA mandatory accreditation standards require safety and emergency protocols that go beyond federal, state or local requirements. Regular safety training and annual emergency drills are required by these mandatory accreditation standards."

He said association rules "require that the San Francisco Zoo provide a thorough report to its independent accreditation commission, which will review it and determine any actions that need to be taken. We will not speculate on what action might be taken until the facts are fully reviewed."

Along with Siberian tigers, an endangered species, the zoo has rarer and smaller Sumatran tigers.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by LiamMcConville

Terrible. But really, who goes to the Zoo on Christmas?

People who don't celebrate the holiday. Or who have nobody to celebrate it with.

[David]

Originally Posted by skcin

People who don't celebrate the holiday. Or who have nobody to celebrate it with.

Liam, have you ever been to Disneyland on Christmas Day? I have. It's one of the two or three most crowded days of the year at the theme park.

[Richard B]

The media is just loving this story.

Sadly, I think I feel more sorry for the tiger than the victim. The tiger was just being a tiger. Being an SF native, some family members lived next to the zoo. I fondly remember hearing those lions roar sometimes when visiting their home.

Anyway, I have been to the SF zoo many times and I can not tell you how many times I have seen teenagers and young adults taunt and harrass the animals. Obviously these kids took it too far and thought it was amusing. The tiger had the last laugh though...for a little while.

[Sarah]

people are morons. don't eff with a tiger.

(haha.. grandma's boy: anybody can get past a dog. but NOBODY ****s with a lion.)

[vivfox]

I think the tiger is still on the loose!