Originally Posted By pecos bill It seems a lot of reports are leaning toward the taunting scenario. Jonvn, the cat we had at Squaw was from Marine World, might have been the same one. I remember how I was ridiculed for not getting up close and personal with the thing. Although zoos have improved by light years over the the confined cages of the past, I still find them somewhat depressing.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 "Mollinedo said the zoo has a response team armed with tranquilizers and firearms, but that the scene unfolded 'so quickly that the officers found (Tatiana) first.'" "We didn't know how many tigers were out," Mollinedo said. "I (was) under the impression we had two or three cats escaping. There was a sense of paranoia around here." *Sigh* Yet another emergency action plan is shown to be useless when it's actually needed. 9/11. The power failure that took down the entire US eastern sector a few years back. The devastation of Katrina. The escape of a tiger in a zoo. The responses to all of these events have shown clearly that our on-paper emergency response plans DO NOT WORK. They *might* work if the emergency came with several days's notice. Unfortunately, that's not how emergencies occur. Duh. And even then, these plans don't take into account the pandemonium and human confusion that occur in an emergency. "uhhhhhhhhh, I didn't know how many tigers were loose." THEN WHY WASN'T INVENTORYING THE TIGERS ONE OF THE *FIRST* THINGS THAT HAPPENED?!?! Some well-thought-out emergency response protocol that was. I've been making an effort to become less cynical. It's difficult when things like this happen.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 Wait. Lest that sound too critical and unsympathetic on my part, let me add... If those three guys were teasing the tigers, they deserved to become cat food.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Who in their right mind would tease a creature that could rip you apart in just seconds? Reminds me of the idiot last year who got mauled by a Grizzly.
Originally Posted By jonvn "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." Exactly. We are members of this zoo, too. We've gone to events, all sorts of things. When I first heard this story, I actually realized that my jaw was just stuck open. I mean, this was really a shocker. I'm sickened by this. I think this is going to kill the zoo, actually. I don't think we can go back, either. We'll start going to the Oakland zoo, perhaps. But I don't know. I suspect that the animal was likely taunted. But the tiger shouldn't have been able to get out of the cage in any case. Pecos Bill: I can't place where "squaw" is. What are you referring to? There has been a lot of talk about how awful zoos are in general, but really, they serve a vital purpose in conservation, preservation and education. If it were not for zoos, many species, such as some tigers, would already be extinct. Many species are already extinct outside of zoos. They are very important, and do a great deal of good. People tend to anthropormorphize the animals in the zoo. Tigers, as well as most cats, will sit an lay about after a meal. They don't go running around whereever. They eat and rest. In the zoo, they get food, they get it regularly, and it's an easy life. There are arguments about zoos that can be made, and some are better than others, but zoos serve an important role in protecting wildlife around the world. The SF in particular has done a great deal to keep lemurs thriving. This is just a tragedy, and a horrible scary one. I can't imagine this happening or no reason though. I bet the young men involved were doing something to the poor animal. Human stupidity. And the animal had to pay for it, and so will the zoo.
Originally Posted By jonvn One more thing....the overwhelming sense I feel right now is sadness over the whole thing. Sadness that these people perhaps taunted the animal, sad that the animal had to be killed, sad that the zoo is going to suffer for it. Sad that someone's christmas is ruined forever, and sad that tigers and other species are rapidly going extinct. I can't do anything about any of this. I can donate money to causes. that's it. I see all these things slipping away, going bad. I see the world becoming a colder place. I see climate change being ignored and the ideas of it being derided. Then I look at my kid, and the other children of the world. And I am filled with gloom for their lives, the lives of their children, and for our continued existence on this planet. I just want my son to be able to live a good life. And I'm afraid he will not be able to.
Originally Posted By DAR I heard about the taunting this morning. And I just have to say....well played by the tiger. That tiger should be a hero not gunned down by the cops. Weed out the morons I say.
Originally Posted By threeundertwo I57, one of the keepers tried to go inventory the cats but was physically restrained by the emergency personnel. I'm not sure what the object of your ire is; emergency plans in general? Lack of adequate emergency drills? Lack of foresight for all conceivable crises and chaos? From what I understand, the fire dept received many 911 calls and the police were on the scene within minutes. Sounds like they were fast enough to prevent further tragedy.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper While I agree that the guys taunting was stupid (if that is what is determined) I believe it is incumbent on the zoos part to predict that type of thing and take every step necessary to prevent a tragedy. Is it reasonable to assume a person (child, young adult, etc) is going to taunt an animal at a zoo? Yes, of course it is. Should the zoo take steps to either: a)mitigate the taunting or b)prevent said animal from any possible escape? Yes, of course they should. Amusement parks have to take steps to prevent people from standing up on rollercoasters even though it is an absolutely ridiculous thing to do. Candy bar manufacturers have to make statements like, "Please unwrap candy bar before eating" because we have dumbed down our society. As much as I hate the idea that these knuckleheads might have brought this on themselves, ultimately the zoo will be found at fault.
Originally Posted By barboy "As much as I hate the idea that these knuckleheads might have brought this on themselves, ultimately the zoo will be found at fault." And that is the 3rd most asinine feature to life in the USA.
Originally Posted By pecos bill If indeed these young men were taunting the animal, they still didnt deserve to get ripped apart. Think about if it was a relative of yours who was involved. The thing is, if that cat really did clear the moat, then the whole layout for dangerous animals needs to be reconfigured, or at least re thought, in all similarly designed zoos. In my mind, that could end up being a good thing. Imagine how everyone would feel if that cat would have grabbed a five year old child. Jonvn, the "squaw" I am referring to is Squaw Valley Ski Resort, near Tahoe City California.
Originally Posted By threeundertwo I believe there was more than taunting going on. Reports now say that a shoe, blood and footprints were found on the tiger's side of the fence, by the moat. It appears that the tiger escaped by grabbing a limb. I hope the zoo sues the family for criminal trespass that lead to the death of an endangered animal.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Just this past May I took my godson for a day at the SF zoo. Tatiana and a male tiger were pacing back and forth as she was in heat. We must have stood there atleast 30 minutes watching them in awe. As you can imagine the growling and purring was shaking the ground under us. They were so beautiful and so powerful. My godson was mesmerized. Soon a crowd began to gather. We had been lucky to spend most of the 30 minutes with just a few others around. Something to the left of me caught my eye, there were four idiot adult mid-30's to 40's men climbing over the fence and standing in the foliage. Only thing now between them and the tigers was the moat. People started yelling at them and they ignored everyone. Kept standing there peering over the bushes. One slip and they would have been toast. The tigers got really agitated and started pacing around the huge tree branches that are around and in the moat. Standing with their noses in the air catching the scent of these idiots. Soon a zookeeper came and told them to get out. My mom and I were stunned that they were escorted out of the park, they were just told to move along. So Christmas night when I saw the news I wasn't all that shocked. Surprised yes but I immediately thought back to that day. My godson is seven, yesterday he called me to talk about it because he too thought back to the that day. Yesterday when the reports came in that taunting might be the reason I figured no doubt. That 14 foot high wall doesn't seem all that high with an anger agitated stretched out 600lb tiger. I'm sickened that the tiger had to be put down, sorry for the families that have to live with this tragedy in their family but not feeling that sad for the men if they were indeed taunting the tigers. I'm really saddended that one of my childhood favorite places is receiving and will be receiving such negative press. I too, contribute to the non-profit. ;< However safety for both the animals and humans has to be a HUGE priority. I'd imagine zoos all over the US will be re-examining the habitats for their animals as well.
Originally Posted By jonvn "I hope the zoo sues the family " Can't sue the family. They did nothing wrong.
Originally Posted By DAR <<If indeed these young men were taunting the animal, they still didnt deserve to get ripped apart. Think about if it was a relative of yours who was involved.>> Last point first, if it was a relative of mine I would chastise for being so stupid. Let's just look back on some deaths/maulings by wild animals. Steve Irwin-Killed by a stingray barb Roy of Siegfield and Roy, mauled badly by a tiger Timothy Treadwell aka Grizzly Man mauled to death along with his girlfriend while trying to "protect the bears in Alaska" And now this kid San Fran. And the majority of this group I mentioned were professionals or had experience in dealing with dangerous animals. These yahoos yes they're yahoos had no business whatsoever taunting this tiger. As Chris Rock once said about the Siegfield and Roy incident, "Everyone says the tiger went crazy. The tiger didn't go crazy the tiger went tiger."
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains Another interesting thing mentioned on the local news last night - this 17 year old spent his weeks divided between each of his parents houses - yet on Christmas Day neither even knew where he was or who he was with!!
Originally Posted By DAR This is from yahoo: <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071226/ap_on_re_us/tiger_escapes_list_3" target="_blank">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200 71226/ap_on_re_us/tiger_escapes_list_3</a>
Originally Posted By barboy ---better need to pull Irwin off that list of alecs. Irwin was having fun with a very unagressive, virtually harmless animal. He probably ran more risk of dying driving to the boat lauch area than being in the water with those rays. Sheer irony: He stupidly handled savanna black mambas and Australian taipans-- the deadliest snakes on earth-- and consitently lived but then dies from a freak encounter with a safe animal.
Originally Posted By jonvn They aren't really safe, are they. He died because he behaved recklessly around animals and it finally caught up to him.
Originally Posted By jonvn Don't mess with tigers: <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=X9owpona8Ow" target="_blank">http://youtube.com/watch?v=X9o wpona8Ow</a>
