If the sign is said to be eighteen inches from the railing it's probably more like eight inches. I wonder if Paul was standing on the railing and keeping his balance by holding onto that sign. The tiger could have crept up in the bushes and jumped out onto him, leaving blood on the sign. I also don't see how yelling could make a tiger attack, but I would think that any of the three could have had enough sense to see that the fence was so short and if the tiger was right there, they would not be taunting, they would be getting the heck out of there. I'll bet the guys were being a little loud and obnoxious and didn't even know that Tiger was creeping there in the bushes beside the fence. If the Tiger was that close, close enough to be poked or urinated on, then she must have been getting up by that fence many many times and was a timebomb waiting to pounce.