Boy Falls into African Painted Dog Exhibit at Piitsburgh Zoo Dies

[passionflower]

right now Maddox story is on our news showing trucks donated in his name for other children at Christmas.

 

[legalmania]

You don't know that. Sometimes instinct takes over. When someone is in the moment, sometimes they react differently than they may have predicted they would have.

You don't know me I went swimming in shark infested water to save some stuff off of a sinking boat.

 

[passionflower]

So you think maybe the boy got away from his mother climbed up and fell?

I think a lot of people are amazed John and Reve are still together.

I think it would be hard to do.but children do climb.
The news called him 'tiny'.
We were not impressed with the dogs so we stopped looked and left.

There was so much to see that was more interesting to the 3 year old.
Her grandpa and mom have a pass to all zoos. I don't understand the pass.
She is more into monkeys and zebras.

 

[passionflower]

You don't know me I went swimming in shark infested water to save some stuff off of a sinking boat.

you are brave, I'm scared of big fish!

 

[legalmania]

you are brave, I'm scared of big fish!

Well we were going to be stranded on an island for awhile, someone had to go get the beer wine and food.

 

[Hopeful One]

You don't know me I went swimming in shark infested water to save some stuff off of a sinking boat.

I didn't say I know you and sharks have nothing to do with this. I said you can't predict your actions if you haven't been in this mother's shoes.

 

[legalmania]

I didn't say I know you and sharks have nothing to do with this. I said you can't predict your actions if you haven't been in this mother's shoes.

If I didn't hesitate to go in shark infested waters I wouldn't hesitate to go get my child. There is no doubt in my mind I would risk my life for my child. That I can predict.

 

[Sonya610]

I'm sure his mother will gladly jump into the enclosure and allow the dogs to take her life as soon as she is out of shock and out of the hospital.

Yeah apparently she missed her chance. The fact both parents had to be hospitalized and sedated is another matter.

How often are BOTH parents sedated at the hospital after a brutal death? Especially when one wasn't even there at the time?

IMO something ain't right about this.

 

[Hopeful One]

If I didn't hesitate to go in shark infested waters I wouldn't hesitate to go get my child. There is no doubt in my mind I would risk my life for my child. That I can predict.

Was your child being eaten by the sharks?

 

[Hopeful One]

Yeah apparently she missed her chance. The fact both parents had to be hospitalized and sedated is another matter.

How often are BOTH parents sedated at the hospital after a brutal death? Especially when one wasn't even there at the time?

IMO something ain't right about this.

What does it matter that they both had to be sedated? It's called shock.

 

[Confusion]

<SNIP>
How often are BOTH parents sedated at the hospital after a brutal death? Especially when one wasn't even there at the time?
.

Exactly how often do parent have their 2 yr-old fall off an observation deck to be attacked and killed by wild dogs? My guess is that both parents end up in shock after the brutal death of a child more often. He did show get there after the boy died, and I personally think I might have been at least close to being in shock if I'd ever seen the body of my 2 year old child that had been torn about by a pack of wild dogs. I believe this is a victim friendly site, and families are normally considered to be victims - especially when the police haven't even determined that a crime was committed. MOO

 

[legalmania]

There are thousands of animals and reptiles on the loose. This is leading to deaths and maulings. What's is it going to take to make people understand this is not only illegal but crazy. Look at Florida there are more reptiles and animals in peoples houses and on the loose then there are in the everglades.


http://www.bornfreeusa.org/database/exo_incidents.php?&page=1

 

[Sonya610]

There are thousands of animals and reptiles on the loose. This is leading to deaths and maulings. What's is it going to take to make people understand this is not only illegal but crazy. Look at Florida there are more reptiles and animals in peoples houses and on the loose then there are in the everglades.

Most of the deaths/maulings listed there are people that entered zoo animal enclosures. The vast majority of animals on that page are small to medium sized constrictors that aren't a threat to humans; sadly they are also tropical species that can't survive the winter in most states (except states like Florida). While I agree most exotic species should not be kept as pets the vast majority of escapees are not threat to humans and rarely a threat to the environment in most climates.

 

[passionflower]

Since this was so horrific, both parents hospitalized and asked for privacy.......will they ever really be questioned???
Then the publicity for sympathy and the little trucks being donated, I doubt we will ever know all.
The zoo will want to keep everything positive.
Even if this was negligence or even on purpose, I doubt we will ever know the truth.
Only someone there that witnessed everything would know alittle.
I haven't seen any interviews.
IMO, this will go silent quickly.

 

[LolaMoon08]

There are thousands of animals and reptiles on the loose. This is leading to deaths and maulings. What's is it going to take to make people understand this is not only illegal but crazy. Look at Florida there are more reptiles and animals in peoples houses and on the loose then there are in the everglades.


http://www.bornfreeusa.org/database/exo_incidents.php?&page=1

I am confused by "on the loose" because I don't really consider animals, reptiles or not, to be "on the loose" when they are simply living out their natural life cycle here in Florida.

If you are talking about the people who take in these animals as pets and then grow tired of them and set them loose, then I understand the "on the loose" arguement because they have now become human friendly and become a grave threat to humans. That is wrong on so many levels.

The biggest thing about being a Floridian to me is being educated and aware of the creatures we have to coexist with. You see a pond/lake, there is a 99.9% chance that there is an alligator in there. Probaby several. I don't even want to get started on snakes.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when dog owners walk their dogs at the edges of the Lakes here in my community when the signs clearly state "Do Not Feed the Alligators." A dog, especially the smaller ones, are food to alligators. Just as cats, ducks, etc... are food to alligators. What grates my nerves even more is when an alligator actually does get a hold of one of the precious pooches, the owners of the dogs are up in arms and want to blame the alligator when it is clearly the dog owners lack of education and negligence that cost them their dogs life. Does that make the alligator, in his natural habitat dangerous? No.

One of the most important things about being a responsible human being having to coexist with various wild animals is to NOT FEED THEM. If you don't feed them, they will not loose their natural fear of us. Once you feed them, you have created a monster that is a danger to everyone. This does not just apply to Floridians and alligators either. It applies to many states and their various wild animal populations.

Blaming wild animals is like going into the ocean and getting bit by a shark and blaming the shark. We are in their habitat. We have chosen to enter their habitat. But, we all take that risk when we choose to enjoy a day at the beach and get into the ocean. Here on land, we have to coexist with wild animals as it is their habitat too.

 

[Confusion]

In addition to the problems of people raising large predatory animals and setting them free making them too comfortable around people, there are many animals, especially in the southern states where the weather isn't a serious issue for them, that are bought as pets, get too big and/or dangerous and the owner will release them into an area where there are NO natural predators for them.

I also have mixed feelings about "feeding wild animals." It's not only dangerous because it takes away most of the natural fear of humans those animals have, but it also makes them dependent on humans for their food. It's true that in the bitter cold or when there is some other kind of natural cause for a lack of food for wild animals, many of them will die. Few of the young survive when food is hard to find, but that's the way nature works. If we put out extra food so more of them survive, it'll take a less severe drought, flood, fire, whatever to reach the point where there isn't enough for all to survive. At the same time, I have a hard time thinking there are babies out there starving that don't have to if we decide to help... no matter what the species (other than mosquitoes and ants!)

 

[Sonya610]

Few of the young survive when food is hard to find, but that's the way nature works. If we put out extra food so more of them survive, it'll take a less severe drought, flood, fire, whatever to reach the point where there isn't enough for all to survive. At the same time, I have a hard time thinking there are babies out there starving that don't have to if we decide to help... no matter what the species (other than mosquitoes and ants!)

Food is a big part. Evading predators is also a big part.

:waitasec:

 

[Nova]

Huh? The diagrams I saw made it quite clear there was a few feet of railing.

Do you think there was a 14" opening that the child fell through? Climb over the railing and hit the net.

Sonya, several articles have reported a 14-foot (not inches) drop or thereabouts.

How high and wide the opening is, I'm not sure. I agree the info released has been very confusing.

 

[passionflower]

http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/...sign-safety-attack-human-snider#axzz2By1Gtvbh

Pittsburgh zoo fatality puts facilities elsewhere &#8216;on alert&#8217;
Visitors at the Los Angeles Zoo can&#8217;t encounter an African painted dog without a serious climb.

A moat and at least two rings of fences separate the public there from the endangered carnivores, the same species that killed a Whitehall toddler on Nov. 4 at Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.

 

[legalmania]

Most of the deaths/maulings listed there are people that entered zoo animal enclosures. The vast majority of animals on that page are small to medium sized constrictors that aren't a threat to humans; sadly they are also tropical species that can't survive the winter in most states (except states like Florida). While I agree most exotic species should not be kept as pets the vast majority of escapees are not threat to humans and rarely a threat to the environment in most climates.

If you click on the map the pink markers are exotic pets not zoos. I lived in Florida most of my life and people use to raise all kinds of snakes and wild life and when they got to big or kept escaping they would turn them loose. I had a friend who use to work with fishing and game and he would go with animal control to help capture snakes and it's a real problem down there. I went on a couple of rescues with him and the ones we caught were anywhere from 13 ft to about 25 ft long. It took aprox. 10 people to get those in the truck. My little piece of the snake was hard to control. If you call that small to medium I would hate to see large. They are dangerous and can kill. Read the article below to see how out of control the problem is.

http://www.iguanainvasion.com/exotic_snakes.html