I have read that more people have been killed by tigers than any other animal, but perhaps that is recently - for example, last year - and not on a cumulative historical basis. There are tigers in India and other places in SE Asia, and they are very aggressive, literally coming into inhabited places and carrying off vulnerable people.
My point was not to criticize the tiger - it was just doing what tigers do - but to point out that the tiger is an extremely dangerous animal and to assume that it couldn’t jump an extra couple of feet (the moat and the fence were just a foot or two above the recommended height) is foolish.
This tiger had already shown itself to be unpredictable and bad tempered when it ate the flesh off its keeper’s arm a year ago, and I’m sure it was primed and ready to go. Another Freeper suggested that it probably leaped onto the wall near the compound, and that’s certainly possible.
I live in Florida, where we have lots of “tiger preserves” for retired circus animals. Aside from the fact that people who live near them are treated to the sound of the tigers howling for their food in the evening, there have been unfortunate incidents here, although none quite as dramatic as this, and most of them have involved keepers or handlers.
They’re dangerous animals because that’s what they are, that’s how they make their living, so to speak. Zoos know that idiots are going to toss things at the animals, and, particularly if they have an animal who has already attacked when it was not even being provoked, should go way beyond the minimum in ensuring safety.
I heard a report on the radio (790 in LA, CA, don't know the call letters) The the fence was 12'10", well below the industry recommended 16'.
Dangle a leg down and shave a couple feet or so off of that, and...