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 ...
I am thinking that the mauling of the first victim just bought the other two a little time to get that far. I bet that cat was watching, or hearing them, the whole time they were fleeing. Since the zoo was nearly empty there were most likely no others humans to distract the cat from those two once she was finished with her first victim.
Interesting theory. Sounds plausible too.
Have you ever had a scared house cat (with front and rear claws) climb up your legs and on to your torso?
I have. House cats are just a smaller and more domesticated version of the big ones - but they behave in very similiar ways.
Hmmmm.
The usual dead animal themes here run the frequent tone.
Poor dead animal.....and yes....I like Tigers too.
Little or no remorse whatsoever for families who lost their kids.
Somehow if the kids taunted to tiger then it’s ok they died or they deserved it.
And yet...poor little Tiger....and even some angry the cops shot it....hell yes....why didn’t someone toss it a baby to gnaw on so it could then be coaxed back into it’s cage...I mean..it is a noble animal...lol
Nothing personal but you folks have your priorites screwed up.
Placing animals even cute majestic predatory ones like Tigers above man is nutty....it’s the sort of thing animists do.
Were the kids allegedly reckless? yes if they taunted the cat
Did they deserve to die for that?
not in universe
When I lived in remote third world areas where there was wildlife on whose menu we existed the locals were under no such illusion like some heartless naive folks are here
Are they illegals?
do they carry 9mm in SF?
hope not
She’s either a PC twofer (female, Oriental) and possibly a threefer..(Lesbian
Several obvious points. First...the door to the Tiger area...wasn’t opened (at least every indicator says that so far). The three guys....all knew each other...and were all young...late teens or early 20s. Two guys got caught up by the Tiger about 200 to 300 ft down from the Tiger area...we are really told alot about the first guy but it appears that he got caught alot closer to the Tiger area...maybe right there at that point. The shooting of the tiger? It would have a terrific shot or two...up close...perfect hit on the heart...which I really doubt. I’d be thinking an assault type rifle instead, but they were very careful not to mention what it was.
My bet...one punk stuck his leg over into this moat area...maybe down three or four feet below the walking level...to bait the Tiger. The Tiger took the leap and caught the leg...not letting go. And then the cat dug his claws into the guy to climb out. The two buddies...took off running and got about two hundred feet down before the Tiger got to them. It would be nice to have video of this episode....which I bet one of the three was video-taping this entire thing.
I have two cats. They are inside/outside cats....they are always on a mission to kill stuff.
I had a Doberman who felt the same way about kitties
it was tough around here
one of my life’s regrets is having to cut the stones off our fine white male long hair....he was older and I had adopted him for no good reason and I never really even liked housecats....he’s still sporting though
16ft vertical jump,33ft horizontal jump,in the wild,from what I could find.
Fascinating. I wonder if you might be right...
I don't disagree with you, but if they were dangling body parts into the tiger's exhibit it's hard to get too upset. It's like the case of someone killed in an accident with a BAC of .35. They didn't deserve it, but some behaviors tend to have catastrophic results. That's life.
There were a couple of tiger attacks in Poland a few years ago.
- Once when a 16 year old boy was showing off and he stepped over the small fence separating the crowd from the tiger. The tiger immediately ripped his arm off.
- The other one happened when some animal rights activists released a tiger from the zoo, it ran all over town and eventually was hunted down by police and shot at over 250 times with AK-47 fire. One shot actually hit the tiger, killing it, but not before the police also (accidentally) shot a veterinarian who was standing nearby trying to help.
Yep, That's what made me think that maybe all this tiger needed was something, or someone, to sink it's claws into in order to climb up out of the moat. I know how much it hurts to have a small kitten do this...I can't even begin to imagine the pain of having a 350-pound tiger do it.
It’s my understanding the tiger was killed because it started advancing on officers.
I love animals, but if that cat were coming at me after killing one and mauling 2 others, kitty’s gonna get shot.
Which makes me wonder how he (the human victim) ended up outside the compound then, and not down in it.
I don't think we know yet what happened.
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