Originally Posted By jonvn Oh, this is a fun story, for me especially, since I go to this zoo a lot. It's a real mess of a zoo. It was built in the 1930s or so, and has some...issues. They have been trying to fix it up these last few years, but it's taking a very long time. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/26/MN0LU4M2T.DTL" target="_blank">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/26/MN0LU4M2T.DTL</a>
Originally Posted By DAR It's a shame that this had to happen, but it was best that the tiger was put down before she did any further harm.
Originally Posted By jmoore1966 I went to the SF Zoo about 5 years ago. I thought it was a bit run down, just like all the animals -- most of them appeared to be past their prime. Obviously this tiger was not one of them.
Originally Posted By Stacers76 We actually thought about going to the SF zoo yesterday afternoon since we were home instead of at the family's for the holiday....glad I was lazy instead.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Not so fun if you are the parents of the 17 year old boy who was mauled to death I suspect.
Originally Posted By barboy ---just taking a "wild" guess here but I think jonvn started this thread facetiously.
Originally Posted By gadzuux Right now they're sticking with the story that the tiger jumped over the wide moat and wall to escape. I've got my doubts. Those enclosures have been around a long time and have seen a lot of animals, and it's never happened before. Even if that's what happened, it still doesn't absolve the zoo of their responsibility to keep their customers safe from tiger maulings.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal Yes, the "fun" in the first post was clearly facetious. I am sure Jonvn takes no pleasure in a person being killed by a tiger.
Originally Posted By pecos bill ABC News had a video clip tonight showing a tiger jumping to the top of an Elephant to get at some poor guy. It was an extraordinary jump, and makes it a bit more believable that one of those Cats could clear that outdated moat setup they have at the S.F. Zoo. They have not ruled out human error, or if the animal was somehow provoked. I had to help babysit a full grown Siberian Tiger when the van that was transporting it had to stay in our shop overnight during a winter promotion at Squaw Valley. I'll never forget that cat staring straight into my eyes, or the hideous smell! I dont even like little cats, the big ones just creep me out!
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Originally Posted By jonvn About ten or so years ago, we went to Marine World in Vallejo. They had a policy then of taking the animals out of the cages and having them mingle with the crowd. They did this with all the animals, including tigers. We walked up to an area, and there was this girl holding onto a chain that had a tiger at the other end of it. It looked right at me, I left. Its mouth looked the size of a hubcap. Its head was enormous. They kept this policy going until...surprise! A tiger attacked someone taking a picture of it. No more dangerous animals outside of cages. Now it's bunnies and tortoises. For some reason, people seem to think tigers are just big kittens. They're not, they're dangerous. And if it is true what is curently circulating, that these guys taunted the animal into attacking, then it's just yet one more indication of how dull witted people have become.
Originally Posted By utahjosh I really don't know how this is "fun." Are you being sarcastic? How is a tiger escaping and killing something fun? Also, I don't know what Jesus has to do with it. Even if you believe he existed, you'd say he was crazy.
Originally Posted By threeundertwo Personally, this story makes me ill. I go to this zoo many times a year, and we are members who make sizable donations. I have pictures of my kids in front of this tiger's cage. I may never go back. Really. My stomach has been upset all day thinking about this. The tiger traveled halfway across the zoo to track down the victims - past yummy gazelles and slow warthogs. It was after the humans. Yes many parts of the zoo are outdated, and the upgrades have been spectacular and slow and expensive. My theory is that this tiger was frankly *healthier* and more powerful than captive tigers of earlier generations for whom the moat was adequate. This was also around the time of it's peak hunting hours. A terrible terrible tragedy for everyone concerned.
Originally Posted By barboy --worse than being bitten and clawed by a Sf Zoo tiger: being stung by a swarm of Arican bees having elephants walk over you in India being attacked by a school of hammerheads in the Sea of Cortez getting squeezed by an anaconda in the Amazon basin.
Originally Posted By barboy "It was after the humans." Not many people know this but Grizzly and Polar bears track humans; so do Bengal Tigers. This subject cat was a Siberian--- a very close cousin to the Bengal species-- so it too had tracking DNA.
Originally Posted By threeundertwo <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/26/MNEJU4SVN.DTL&tsp=1" target="_blank">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/26/MNEJU4SVN.DTL&tsp=1</a> "Officials speculated that one of the victims may have been dangling a leg or other body part over the 14-foot grotto wall and that Tatiana latched onto the limb and climbed out. Police sources said a footprint had been found on a metal fence, suggesting that someone had climbed it to get closer to the big cats. . . .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."
Originally Posted By threeundertwo Old school thinking: Keep the people a safe distance from the animals but preserve great visibility. Zoos need to realize that it's just as important to keep the animals safe from the stupid humans. This will mean increased fencing and decreased visibility, or more expensive reinforced window type fencing.
