Tiger kills man at San Francisco Zoo

Status
Not open for further replies.

Buzz Mills

New Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2004
Messages
23,626
Reaction score
12
Website
forumsforjustice.com
Tiger kills man at San Francisco Zoo

SAN FRANCISCO - A tiger that mauled a zookeeper last year escaped from its pen at the San Francisco Zoo on Tuesday, killing one man and injuring two others before police shot it dead, authorities said. The three men were in their 20s; they were together and were not zoo employees, San Francisco Police spokesman Steve Mannina said. They were attacked just after the 5 p.m. closing time outside the zoo's Terrace Cafe on the east end of the 125-acre grounds.

It was unclear how the tiger escaped or how long it was on the loose. The approximately 300-pound female Siberian tiger, named Tatiana, attacked a zookeeper last December during a public feeding, according to the zoo's director of animal care and conservation. The zoo, which is open 365 days a year, was evacuated immediately after the attack was reported. The two injured men were in critical but stable condition at San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Lt. Ken Smith said. A call to the supervising nurse at San Francisco General was not immediately returned. "This is a tragic event for San Francisco," Smith said. "We pride ourselves in our zoo, and we pride ourselves in tourists coming and looking at our city."

Authorities did not believe there were any other people attacked, but because it was dark they could not be certain. Investigators remained on the scene and Smith said a thorough sweep of the grounds would be conducted in the morning. Investigators working to understand what happened have sketched a chilling picture.

The first attack happened right outside the Siberian's enclosure — the victim died on the scene. A group of four responding officers came across his body when they made their way into the dark zoo grounds, said Mannina. Then they saw the second victim. He 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. Tatiana sat next to him. Suddenly, the cat attacked the man again, Mannina said. The officers started approaching the animal, bearing their handguns. Tatiana started moving in their direction. Several of the officers then fired, killing the animal.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071226/ap_on_re_us/tiger_escapes
 
I was reading this story on my newspage earlier Buzz....how sad for all concerned ...I know there was human life lost but I also feel sorry for the Tiger:(
 
How sad for all involved. That poor young man lost his life tragically, and I hope that the other two men will be okay. This seems to have been one very aggressive tigress. I have read and have heard several times that the Siberian Tiger is among the most aggressive among the big cats. But, for this cat to attack three people back to back seems unusual to me. In the wild they generally kill one large prey animal and that's it until next time--unless they feel threatened.

It is so sad that one young man is gone and two are injured. I wonder if enough precautions were taken to fully secure that tigress after she attacked the zookeeper last year. That any tiger or large predatory animal escaped tells me they may need to microscope the zoo to ensure its security.

Lion
 
Thats what I mean too Kimba...that tiger shouldnt have been on the loose to start with.....its a very sad story all round .
 
I was reading this story on my newspage earlier Buzz....how sad for all concerned ...I know there was human life lost but I also feel sorry for the Tiger:(


I agree. I feel terrible for the young man that lost his life, but I wish the tiger had been managed correctly by the zoo. She was, after all, a wild animal. What tiger isn't going to attack a human if they get out of their pen?

...I saw a picture of Tatiana and she was stunningly gorgeous. Magnificent.

eta: here she is:

capt.b029e2bb518649baac742bf96c49dfaa.tiger_escapes_ny118.jpg
 
I was reading at the Mercury News website about this attack and found the following comment:

http://pod01.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=24284.35&nav=messages&webtag=mn-comments

snip

Sad but expected - the coverups start before the body is even cold. She didn't jump over anything, A part time, high up staff left the door open - but if you're rich you're protected. SJMerc - please talk to the people who work there and report the truth...

---

Another person commented that they had been at the zoo yesterday and that the tigers were very agitated and that the zookeeper had commented on that fact...
 
I was reading at the Mercury News website about this attack and found the following comment:

http://pod01.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=24284.35&nav=messages&webtag=mn-comments

snip

Sad but expected - the coverups start before the body is even cold. She didn't jump over anything, A part time, high up staff left the door open - but if you're rich you're protected. SJMerc - please talk to the people who work there and report the truth...

---

Another person commented that they had been at the zoo yesterday and that the tigers were very agitated and that the zookeeper had commented on that fact...

I think it's very likely that someone did leave the door open, but I've got to wonder how this poster would know that it was "a part time, high up" staff member unless he or she knows exactly what happened.
 
I am just so shocked and horrified by this! What a needless tragedy!

I hope this is followed up with some termination of employment--
 
I was reading this story on my newspage earlier Buzz....how sad for all concerned ...I know there was human life lost but I also feel sorry for the Tiger:(
That's how I felt too dingo; my first thought was to feel sorry for the Tiger, but of course I feel sorry for the life lost, and the two others mauled.

I'm not a big fan of zoos; the poor animals, especially the larger ones, shouldn't be imprisoned.
 
I heard on Fox News just a few minutes ago that there is a report that one or more of the three men who were attacked may have taunted the tiger. I was curious a few threads back as to why the tiger would have mauled three people back to back. This does not seem to be typical tiger behavior for an animal who does not feel threatened or feel the need to be possessive over a kill or protective of her cubs. But, if the tiger was taunted it would explain why she attacked all three men back to back. If this is true, then it is a shame.

Somehow the tiger escaped, which means that security failed, and this must be looked into. Negligence, if found should come with a price, although no lives can possibly be replaced. But, if the men taunted the tiger, then it was wrong, and one man is dead, two are injured, and the tiger who does not know right from wrong is dead, too. This is sad all the way around.

Lion

ETA: A behaviorist was just on Fox News stating that it seemed unusual for the tiger to have attacked three people back to back as well. He said that either the cat may have been psychotic or hated people. He also said that the distance from which someone would have to have taunted someone was too far to have been upsetting to the tiger. I imagine he may be correct so long as he knows the layout and the distance from the enclosure and where people can stand. So, perhaps I was mistaken about that. But, the jury is out until I know more facts.
 
What a sad story all around, but I am wondering how does one taunt a tiger? :confused:
 
In zoos where the animals are provided an environment that is close to their natural habitat, and where the animals are kept mentally as well as physically stimulated (hiding food so they need to, "Hunt" or find it, play-scapes, pools, pairing animals appropriately, etc..), I think it is beneficial for two reasons. One, endangered species can be bred in an effort not to lose them to often-times human induced extinction, and two people can be educated and grow to care about and want to preserve wildlife populations.

Lion
 
In zoos where the animals are provided an environment that is close to their natural habitat, and where the animals are kept mentally as well as physically stimulated (hiding food so they need to, "Hunt" or find it, play-scapes, pools, pairing animals appropriately, etc..), I think it is beneficial for two reasons. One, endangered species can be bred in an effort not to lose them to often-times human induced extinction, and two people can be educated and grow to care about and want to preserve wildlife populations.

Lion

Good post Lion. The zoo where I live Glen Oak is rated one of the worst in the US. They had a lion enclosure and all the lions died so they got a couple of tigers and one of the tigers killed the other one. I don't think they made a good match so there is a lot more than to just throwing some animals in an enclosure.
 
What a sad story all around, but I am wondering how does one taunt a tiger? :confused:

I don't know, but I can speculate that yelling, throwing things, or running back and forth to incite the prey drive in the cat would all be considered taunting and would agitate the animal.

Still, this tiger should have been secured better even if she had not mauled a zookeeper last year. Something went wrong somewhere. A zoo has a tremendous responsibility to ensure the health, well-being, and safety of their animals, their staff, and the public. I hope the root of the problem is discovered and that this zoo and all others learn from this tragic event.

Lion
 
Good post Lion. The zoo where I live Glen Oak is rated one of the worst in the US. They had a lion enclosure and all the lions died so they got a couple of tigers and one of the tigers killed the other one. I don't think they made a good match so there is a lot more than to just throwing some animals in an enclosure.

Ethical, well designed and managed zoos have skilled animal behaviorists on staff that help pair the animals, monitor behavior, and make changes where necessary. That all of the lions died, then one tiger killed another at the zoo you mentioned sounds like they deserve their poor rating.

Lion
 
What a sad story all around, but I am wondering how does one taunt a tiger? :confused:

Tell them they're fat and that their stripes are uneven....:p jk


Seriously, I feel badly for the for the humans who were killed and injured and I also feel badly for the tiger.
 
Obviously I feel bad for the humans,but also feel for the tiger and all animals in captivity. I know in this day and age it is necessary to preserve some species,but all the same,it seems cruel to me to lock animals up when they should be free to roam.
Sorta off the subject,but did anyone catch the story of the elephants who remembered each other after something like 20 years? They had been cruelly treated in the circus,(don't get me started on circuses!!)and then put in various zoos. They met up again at an elephant sanctuary and remembered each other.Fasinating.
 
Obviously I feel bad for the humans,but also feel for the tiger and all animals in captivity. I know in this day and age it is necessary to preserve some species,but all the same,it seems cruel to me to lock animals up when they should be free to roam.
Sorta off the subject,but did anyone catch the story of the elephants who remembered each other after something like 20 years? They had been cruelly treated in the circus,(don't get me started on circuses!!)and then put in various zoos. They met up again at an elephant sanctuary and remembered each other.Fasinating.

I remember that story hockeymom. I love that story. They started yelling for each other and so they did some research and found out they had been together some 20 years ago. I hate the circus too and my son asks to go everytime they are in town. I explained to him why we don't go but he still wants to go. At least zoos try to provide a natural habitat and don't beat them into doing stupid tricks.
 
Obviously I feel bad for the humans,but also feel for the tiger and all animals in captivity. I know in this day and age it is necessary to preserve some species,but all the same,it seems cruel to me to lock animals up when they should be free to roam.
Sorta off the subject,but did anyone catch the story of the elephants who remembered each other after something like 20 years? They had been cruelly treated in the circus,(don't get me started on circuses!!)and then put in various zoos. They met up again at an elephant sanctuary and remembered each other.Fasinating.
A good story about elephants is how the elephants in Indonesia, knew, immediately after the earthquake, prior to the Tsunami, to go to higher ground; elephants that were chained, broke their chains in order to do this, and they hadn't ever experienced a Tsunami before. Native tribes, on some of the remote Indonesian islands, also knew to go as far inland as they could, simply based on stories handed down from one generation to the next. There isn't any way that a zoo enclosure can mimic, or come close to, the environment a tiger, lion, water bufalo, rhino, hippo, experiences in the wild.

San Francisco has a 15 foot moat, and a 20 foot wall; they haven't yet figured out how the tiger escaped this enclosure--it is said, there was no other way of escape. They said the tiger could easily get over a 20 foot wall, if the moat wasn't there.
 
I don't know, but I can speculate that yelling, throwing things, or running back and forth to incite the prey drive in the cat would all be considered taunting and would agitate the animal.

Lion

I suppose.....but I also suppose that any kind of behavior like that would not be allowed to last long. Hopefully the two surviving victims will be able to truthfully clarify what went down.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
142
Guests online
2,471
Total visitors
2,613

Forum statistics

Threads
590,021
Messages
17,929,101
Members
228,039
Latest member
shmoozie
Back
Top