Posted on 12/27/2007 10:18:04 AM PST by wardaddy
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The big cat exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo was cordoned off as a crime scene Wednesday as investigators tried to determine whether a Siberian tiger that killed a visitor escaped from its high-walled pen on its own or got help from someone, inadvertent or otherwise.
Police shot the 300-pound animal to death after a Christmas Day rampage that began when the tiger escaped from an enclosure surrounded by what zoo officials said are an 18-foot wall and a 20-foot moat. Two brothers who also were visiting the zoo were severely mauled.
Police Chief Heather Fong said the department has opened a criminal investigation to "determine if there was human involvement in the tiger getting out or if the tiger was able to get out on its own."
Police said they have not ruled anything out, including whether the escape was the result of carelessness or a deliberate act.
(AP) Tatiana, a female Siberian tiger that killed one person and injured two others, is seen in the lion... Full Image
Fong said officers were gathering evidence from the tiger's enclosure as well as accounts from witnesses and others.
One zoo official insisted the tiger did not get out through an open door and must have climbed or leaped out. But Jack Hanna, former director of the Columbus Zoo and a frequent guest on TV, said such a leap would be an unbelievable feat, and "virtually impossible."
"There's something going on here. It just doesn't feel right to me," he said. "It just doesn't add up to me."
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
The report I read said that zoo personnel had responded with their "shoot team" at about the same time the SFPD showed up. The zoo team had tranquilizer guns which were commandeered by the cops. I would assume that the brave men in blue tranked the cat and then finished her off with a head shot at "can't miss" range.
Damn shame, she was a beautiful beast and worth more then the scum who baited her into attacking.
Regards,
GtG
A-freakin-men .... preach on.
The Kitty was Taunted and Treated Cruelly, so she Responded in the Way a Tiger would Respond.
That's one HELL of a leap there. Bigger than the leap the tiger made.
Three young males drove 50 miles to go to the zoo on Christmas day- when it would be practically deserted. They wait until the zoo closes to approach the tiger. The kid that got killed had no id on him. This whole thing was preplanned. It was either some kind of initiation or it was a “jackass” inspired stunt. In fact, I’d be willing to bet this is a dare type thing that has been done before at this very same zoo and is known by kids in the area. They antagonize the tiger by throwing rocks and sticks at him. Then they stick their legs over to show how brave they are with the tiger jumping up at them. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if more than one of these young men took a turn at it that day.
It is all Bush’s fault. :)
That's what I would say too! We have 2 cats (smaller than tigers, though) and they're indoor cats. BUT... If we bring them out into the yard, their number one goal is to try and ESCAPE!
I can't believe that it got out on it's own, unless the taunters got the tiger so riled up it pulled off one of those rare Bob Beamon moments!
This is purely conjecture but perhaps his buddies had a good grip or he had his arms through a railing and thus was firmly anchored as he dangled above the taunted tiger? She makes a higher than expected jump and digs into flesh which allows her to essentially “run up” him much like lions “run up” the back of a zebra. It happens so fast that the tiger’s weight is off of him before he has a chance to fall into the moat losing only his shoe at this point. Maybe his terrified buddies, full of adrenaline, are pulling on him which allows the the tiger enough time to get out using him as a “ladder”.
Even if it hadn’t advanced, once it kills a human, an animal should be put down.
Your scenario is starting to add up. The moat is apparently quite shallow, designed mostly to keep the tiger from getting a firm footing for a leap and scramble up the wall rather than to actually deter crossing.
Several posters have mentioned rocks and branches being thrown into the moat and someone speculated about a park bench or something similar being tossed in.
If the three victims put enough stuff in the moat, the tiger could have jumped onto the wall, then scrambled high enough to grab Sousa’s dangling leg, which would explain his shoe being found inside the enclosure. It could then have scrambled over, arresting his fall and pulling him back to the outside of the wall in the process.
City administration officials and District Supervisors were outraged and demanded immediate changes at the zoo to protect the public. Mayor Gavin Newsom was so upset, he immediately got on a plane Wednesday morning and flew to Hawaii for a vacation.
I think you nailed it. Given the evidence, I don’t know what other explanation there could be.
How true:
“Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can’t help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.”
Excerpt from the notebooks of Lazarus Long, from Robert Heinlein’s “Time Enough for Love”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/27/MNEJU4SVN.DTL&tsp=1
“footprint found on the metal fence...”
The tiger apparently by-passed other people to pursue the two friends of the guy that was killed ...
I don’t think the kid deserved to die or be mauled ,I
guarantee the parents of the dead kid will blame the zoo 100% even if overwhelming evidence — even confession — proves those guys helped the beast escape. They will claim that their son would never do anything like that and he was a good boy etc...
Evolution at its best....
Or perhaps, when the tiger first got a hold of young Carlos, his two buddies held on to him and pulled him back to “safety”. Alas, they also pulled the tiger up.
Says in this SFGayt article that the moat is 14’ deep...
???
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