Tiger kills man at San Francisco Zoo

[LinasK]

In the world of 'graphics', it would be considered a diagram. Its an illustration.
A diagrammatic illustration. A re-creation to show the scene of the crime.

Except it looks like a photograph with illustrations added, not an illustrated drawing.

 

[dark_shadows]

This is the first mention of this - it seems very strange that the tiger could have been out, for any time at all, without the entire zoo going on high alert almost immediately.

Dearest Buzz,:blowkiss:
I do not know what to think of the whole story. Yes it is strange that the tiger could have been walking around for 15 or 20 minutes and then a witness say that the tiger was provoked.
This statement sounds strange to me (I posted it earlier);
Rajesh Bhatia, a San Mateo resident who was visiting the zoo with his family during the incident, said he heard no warnings until 5:45.

Bhatia said he and his wife were with his mother's elderly parents and two small children at the Leaping Lemur Cafe, about 250 yards from the tiger enclosure, when the escape occurred. They left the cafe about 5:25, then went to the zoo store, on the far west side of the park.

They had moved away from the danger but were unaware of it, he said.

Not until his group was in the parking area on the way out of the zoo did Bhatia overhear a police officer telling another patron that an animal had escaped, he said.



How could they not know that there was an attack about 250 yards from the tiger enclosure? Is this the same cafe that the other 2 were that were 300 yards away and were attacked?

So much Love and Respect for you,
dark_shadows

 

[LinasK]

Dearest Buzz,:blowkiss:
I do not know what to think of the whole story. Yes it is strange that the tiger could have been walking around for 15 or 20 minutes and then a witness say that the tiger was provoked.
This statement sounds strange to me (I posted it earlier);
Rajesh Bhatia, a San Mateo resident who was visiting the zoo with his family during the incident, said he heard no warnings until 5:45.

Bhatia said he and his wife were with his mother's elderly parents and two small children at the Leaping Lemur Cafe, about 250 yards from the tiger enclosure, when the escape occurred. They left the cafe about 5:25, then went to the zoo store, on the far west side of the park.

They had moved away from the danger but were unaware of it, he said.

Not until his group was in the parking area on the way out of the zoo did Bhatia overhear a police officer telling another patron that an animal had escaped, he said.



How could they not know that there was an attack about 250 yards from the tiger enclosure? Is this the same cafe that the other 2 were that were 300 yards away and were attacked?

So much Love and Respect for you,
dark_shadows

No, the zoo has more than one cafe. The Lemurs are in the very front of the zoo, that's one of the newest and best exhibits there. The Lions and tigers are in one of the oldest- very old areas of the zoo.

 

[dark_shadows]

No, the zoo has more than one cafe. The Lemurs are in the very front of the zoo, that's one of the newest and best exhibits there. The Lions and tigers are in one of the oldest- very old areas of the zoo.

My very dearest LinasK,:blowkiss:
Thank-you my dear.
I guess when it was said that the cafe they were in was 250 feet from the tiger enclosure it through me off.

So much Love and Respect for you,
dark_shadows

 

[i.b.nora]

Tiger-mauling probe looks at whether victim dangled leg

San Francisco Chronicle — Wednesday, December 26, 2007

"San Francisco police are investigating the possibility that one of the victims in the fatal tiger mauling on Christmas Day climbed over a waist-high fence and then dangled a leg or other body part over the edge of a moat that kept the big cat away from the public, sources close to the investigation said Wednesday.

The minimal evidence found at the scene included a shoe and blood in an area between the gate and the edge of the 25- to 30-foot-wide moat, raising questions about what role, if any, the victims might have had in accidentally helping the animal escape."

"Police sources said a footprint had been found on a metal fence, suggesting that someone had climbed the fence to get closer to the big cats. Authorities were looking into whether the tiger escaped by latching on to a leg or body part.

Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo said it was also likely that the animal was provoked.

"Somebody created a situation that really agitated her and gave her some sort of a method to break out," Mollinedo said. "There is no possible way the cat could have made it out of there in a single leap. I would surmise that there was help.

"A couple of feet dangling over the edge could possibly have done it."

Sources said pinecones and sticks that were found in the moat might have been thrown at the animal. Those items could not have landed in the grotto naturally, they said."

"However, police Sgt. Neville Gittens maintained that there was no reason to think that the victims were taunting the tiger."

A long article that talks about all the chaos.

 

[LinasK]

My very dearest LinasK,:blowkiss:
Thank-you my dear.
I guess when it was said that the cafe they were in was 250 feet from the tiger enclosure it through me off.

So much Love and Respect for you,
dark_shadows

Here is the link to the Zoo map: http://www.sfzoo.org/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=13775&orgkey=1900

 

[txsvicki]

I feel bad that the tiger had to die, but it's an animal and a boy, a kid is dead. No kid deserves to die for taunting an animal, if that is even what he was doing and the tiger was somehow able to get out. I doubt if the boy went right up to the tiger knowing that it could escape and slapped it or anything. I don't believe that I will be visiting a zoo if something like this can happen.

 

[dark_shadows]

How horrifying that his parents watched the news and did not know that it was their son.

It says on the link below that he has a myspace page.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/26/MNO6U4U72.DTL

It does not give the link.
Respectfully,
dark_shadows

 

[reb]

i side 100% with the animals here. if an innocent person were killed i might feel sorry for them... but if it's true the moron was actually tauntung the tiger?? then he deserved what he got. it's always sickening to hear about wild animals that put on display in zoos or forced to perform in circuses and then one day they snap and can't take it anymore,, and then THEY get shot and killed!! how tragic,, and this to me just shows the ignorance and idiocy of humans. if i was locked up in a cage (or, a limited enclosure, not in a natural environment) my whole life and gawked at by thousands of loud, hyper, overly-excited, screaming children every day of my life i'd go ballistic the first chance i got, too. i absolutely DESPISE zoos.. the few i have been too, i am always terribly upset and disturbed by the neurotic and desperate behavior of the animals. many of the animals pace endlessly and they are obviously so distresed, looking everywhere for a way out of their enclosure. it's so cruel and inhumane, i don't care how 'natural' they make the environment. but unfortunately we humans cannot control our breeding and we are squeezing wild animals out of their habitat all over the world, and some say that zoos are our only hope. i say--- curbing the HUMAN population is our only hope!!!

 

[RiverRat]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/27/MNEJU4SVN.DTL

"The three victims, all young men from San Jose, were visiting the zoo together. They were all present just outside the tiger's grotto when the tiger escaped, killed 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. with a savage slash to the throat, and injured the other two.

The injured victims fled, leaving a trail of blood, which police believe the tiger followed for 300 yards up a zoo pathway. As the tiger cornered and attacked one of the brothers, four police officers arrived, distracted the animal and shot it dead.

(For ibnora) When police arrived at the zoo, they were hampered by a lack of emergency lights, video surveillance cameras and maps."

 

[RiverRat]

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Tiger...#/071226/480/283370d53ff44f0e86965477ed95896e

"Police officers examine the tiger enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007, in San Francisco following a Christmas Day tiger attack that left one person dead and two others injured. Tatiana, a Siberian tiger, escaped from the grotto and attacked three people before police shot and killed her." (AP Photo)

 

[Filly]

but if it's true the moron was actually tauntung the tiger?? then he deserved what he got.

Reb, I hear ya, and kind of thought the same thing. Then again morons are everywhere. These were teen boys. I see teen boys every single day out my back window doing more than moronic things. Maybe the zoo should have allowed for it. I am not disagreeing with you. Just a thought. Philadelphia has the oldest zoo in the country. I have been there twice in my life. Two times too many. That tiger was born and bred in captivity. Nothing right about that.

 

[hockeymom]

i side 100% with the animals here. if an innocent person were killed i might feel sorry for them... but if it's true the moron was actually tauntung the tiger?? then he deserved what he got. it's always sickening to hear about wild animals that put on display in zoos or forced to perform in circuses and then one day they snap and can't take it anymore,, and then THEY get shot and killed!! how tragic,, and this to me just shows the ignorance and idiocy of humans. if i was locked up in a cage (or, a limited enclosure, not in a natural environment) my whole life and gawked at by thousands of loud, hyper, overly-excited, screaming children every day of my life i'd go ballistic the first chance i got, too. i absolutely DESPISE zoos.. the few i have been too, i am always terribly upset and disturbed by the neurotic and desperate behavior of the animals. many of the animals pace endlessly and they are obviously so distresed, looking everywhere for a way out of their enclosure. it's so cruel and inhumane, i don't care how 'natural' they make the environment. but unfortunately we humans cannot control our breeding and we are squeezing wild animals out of their habitat all over the world, and some say that zoos are our only hope. i say--- curbing the HUMAN population is our only hope!!!

I agree 100% with you. These are wild animals,how are they supposed to act?
I often think of the movie "Planet of the Apes" when the humans were on display. Thats how it must feel to these poor creatures.

 

[IdahoMom]

I agree 100% with you. These are wild animals,how are they supposed to act?
I often think of the movie "Planet of the Apes" when the humans were on display. Thats how it must feel to these poor creatures.

You're right!

 

[nanandjim]

When I first heard this story, I suspected that the three victims somehow were the cause of this unfortunate incident. It is sad that the animal, who was reacting to his aggressors, was killed because of it.

 

[MeoW333]

i side 100% with the animals here. if an innocent person were killed i might feel sorry for them... but if it's true the moron was actually tauntung the tiger?? then he deserved what he got. it's always sickening to hear about wild animals that put on display in zoos or forced to perform in circuses and then one day they snap and can't take it anymore,, and then THEY get shot and killed!! how tragic,, and this to me just shows the ignorance and idiocy of humans. if i was locked up in a cage (or, a limited enclosure, not in a natural environment) my whole life and gawked at by thousands of loud, hyper, overly-excited, screaming children every day of my life i'd go ballistic the first chance i got, too. i absolutely DESPISE zoos.. the few i have been too, i am always terribly upset and disturbed by the neurotic and desperate behavior of the animals. many of the animals pace endlessly and they are obviously so distresed, looking everywhere for a way out of their enclosure. it's so cruel and inhumane, i don't care how 'natural' they make the environment. but unfortunately we humans cannot control our breeding and we are squeezing wild animals out of their habitat all over the world, and some say that zoos are our only hope. i say--- curbing the HUMAN population is our only hope!!!

Reb, i'm siding with you and the animals 100%!!
I wish they would put the remaining 2 men (as they were in their early 20's and know better) in some jail cells so then they can know what it feels like to be caged. Obviously these guys were taunting the tigress. As for a board being found around the moat area; how high is the moat with it's width being 20 feet across? If a board was slide down at an angle would the tigress be able to make the jump? There is no doubt in my mind these guys were taunting her. Whether as a dare, or just being stupid, the attacks were provoked. What i don't understand is why the police ordered the Tigress to "Stop!" with their guns drawn as obviously she's not going to care what they're yelling. Zoo officials should have been ready to respond to such incidents with tranq guns.

 

[Dobler]

The tiger was doing what comes naturally, so she is not to blame. If the boys were taunting the tiger- where were the zoo officials? I would think they would have employees ushering people out of the zoo. It was Christmas, so if they were understaffed they should not have opened. It is a tragedy for both the zoo and the family of the teenager.

 

[imthemom]

The tiger was doing what comes naturally, so she is not to blame. If the boys were taunting the tiger- where were the zoo officials? I would think they would have employees ushering people out of the zoo. It was Christmas, so if they were understaffed they should not have opened. It is a tragedy for both the zoo and the family of the teenager.

I too think it is a tragedy for the family but if they were taunting the tiger then it was their own fault. There was just an attack on a man who stuck his arm through a tigers cage to get a better picture at a zoo and it ripped his arm off and he died of blood loss. Their was a zoo employee right there yelling at him to get back over the fence and not to do that but he would not listen. They can't have a staff member everywhere, so I don't blame the zoo or the animal. I do think they should have tried tranq. guns though.

 

[lisag]

I agree that a wild animal is just that ... "wild". I agree that if the boys were taunting her, then she was only doing what was natural for her. But I would still never say "they got what they had coming".
Regardless of the who's, what's, how's and why's - a life was lost and that is a tragedy no matter what.
I highly doubt that these boys had any idea what this animal was capable of doing or the ramifications of their actions.

 

[Nova]

I certainly blame the zoo, even if the victims also did something stupid.

The zoo authorities are supposed to be experts on animal (including human animal) behavior.

An enclosure that a tiger can escape when agitated is NOT a safe exhibit.

An enclosure where a tiger can reach the arm of somebody stupid enough to stick his arm through bars is NOT a safe exhibit.

Yes, it would be lovely if all humans understood the dangers of wild animals, but many people--particularly city people with little contact with animals--do not. And, frankly, zoo authorities owe it to their animals to protect them from stupid humans.