**UPDATE TO SAN FRAN ZOO STORY**
From CNN.com:
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 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.
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. 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.”
I KNEW IT! I knew that one of the victims had to be messing with the tigers. His parents are going to sue the zoo for “not doing enough” to protect humans. How can you stupid-proof anything? I mean, really.
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BBC News, on Christmas Eve, reported the deaths of two rare Siberian tiger cubs at a Chinese zoo. The cubs’ bodies were found in the refrigerator of a ticketing office at a zoo in China’s Hubei province.
Just a week earlier, “a female Siberian tiger was found dead in the same area. Thieves had broken into its cage, tranquillized the animal, then butchered it.” Zookeepers found the remains of the tiger who’d been skinned, and her legs removed.
Only an estimated 400 Siberian tigers still remain in the wild.
Beijing banned domestic trade in tigers in 1993. But, like all Chinese laws involving animal rights or wildlife conservation, if there’s a profit to be made the authorities look the other way when the law is violated. The BBC reports that “Around a dozen private tiger farms operate under government license. … Most have been heavily criticized for the poor conditions of their animals.”
Don’t even bring up that “cultural tradition” argument. DO NOT. It’s bullshit and you know it.
If that news wasn’t bad enough, a man was killed and two people mauled at the San Francisco Zoo by Tatiana, a tiger who mauled a keeper last year.
The Zoo cannot explain, yet, how Tatiana escaped and traveled an eighth of a mile to the outdoor cafe where the attacks happened. Anyone out there know if the SF Zoo uses hotwires? If not, they might want to consider the investment. The story above states “The tigers are kept in an “open grotto,” not a cage, separated from the public area by a moat 18 feet wide and 20 feet deep and a wall taller than 19 feet …” No mention of hotwires.
The other thing I want to understand is why the local police were called and not Zoo security? Zoo police would’ve been on the scene with guns and TRANQUILIZER DARTS instead of just shooting an individual of an endangered species. This idea that animals held in captivity shouldn’t behave like their wild counterparts boggles my mind and pisses me off.
Until an investigation is completed, the AZA should revoke the SF Zoo’s accreditation and consider moving their great cats to better-qualified zoos in the Species Survival Plan.
s.
Filed under: animal rights, endangered species, wildlife conservation
It is unfortunate that tragedy has beset Carlos’ familyl but also Tatiana the tiger. If the zoo has followed all safety measures, they should not be held accountable. We as parents, individuals must know our limits against the power of animals such as this tiger. They act on instinct while we have the power to think and protect. I hope that we don’t unneccessarily put blame on facilities, like this zoo, if proven that they were not neglectful. However, as a parent I could not even imagine how one feels losing a child. Both parties have their responsibilities and hope that fairness is the outcome. I am not an animal lover but it’s plain and simple — we all must respect even those we capture.
Unfortunately, we are probably safer with a Siberian tiger roaming free compared with three young adults who obviously lack the basic mental faculties to know not to dangle their limbs in front of a wild animal. Hopefully the media will stop glorifying the misery of the “victims’” parents because it is only making the American public misunderstand that normally animals enclosed in a zoo’s 20 foot wall do not escape.
Thank you for this updated information on this story. I have to agree with both Lilia and Gina, i am an animal lover and have always loved tigers since i can’t remember when, they are one of our worlds most beautiful species, i can not imagine losing a child but i would not wish to see this majestic creature killed. If an animal can be tranquilised it should be! straight forward, Tigers are Hunters and they should be treated with the upmost respect.
You can take an animal out of the wild, but not take the wild out of an animal. This is basic instinct, it should not be punished, for a problem that man has caused yet again.
Yes, I have to agree with Lilia, Gina and Louise. As a parent, I can’t imagine losing a child. And yet, if these kids were taunting this animal and climbed over the fence into it’s sanctuary, how stupid could they be? I’m disturbed that the zoo officials were not on hand to tranquilize this cat and that the police had to shoot her. I am very anxious to hear what the investigation brings out. Lisa, California
kid deserved it..if you do something stupid then you deserve the consequences..this is like me jumping into the croc pit at my zoo which is not hard to do and being eaten..and everyone blaming the zoo when it was my idiotic fault for doing it..the zoo should not be blamed at all
Thanks, y’all, for your comments. I can’t even read the comments on CNN any longer because the right-to-lifers are there proclaiming the almighty sanctity of human life. I wonder how much they’ll enjoy living on a planet that has scarce resources and the only life is human.
If it’s true that those boys were inside the tiger’s enclosure and stupidly taunting the tigers, then the zoo is not at fault. You cannot protect humans from their own stupidity. Darwinism seems to work.
s.
This is no doubt about to become another historic case like the lady with the hot McDonald’s coffee: this family will get $9M in a judgment, because the zoo failed to protect their son from the tiger, even though the son taunted the animal and even dangled his leg over the rail, thereby enabling the tiger’s escape. Once more, the blame industry (AKA the Trial Lawyer’s Association) will enable a victory over individual responsibility for individual actions. In rapid sequel, many smaller zoos will close or remove potentially violent animals. (Our grandchildren will be able to go see sheep and goldfish.) Insurance rates for zoos will rise; premiums passed to municipalities. My taxes will go up. Ooh, another surprise. Hooray for us.