Posted on 12/27/2007 2:35:00 PM PST by Shermy
The wall of a moat that surrounds the enclosure from which a 350-pound tiger escaped on Christmas Day was actually far shorter than San Francisco Zoo officials thought and what national standards recommend, authorities said today.
Zoo officials have gone back and forth on the grotto's measurements since Tuesday's attack, which killed 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. and seriously injured his friends. Relatives and public records identify the friends as brothers Paul Dhaliwal, 19, and Kulbir Dhaliwal, 23.
Earlier this week, zoo officials said the moat's wall was at least 20 feet tall. Today they said it was little over 12 feet. Officials have given at least five different measurements for the enclosure, which is surrounded by a moat, two walls on either side of the moat, a small patch of grass and then another waist-high fence. Experts say that the depth of the moat and height of the walls could have a large impact on the animal's ability to escape the enclosure...
..Zoo officials and police authorities today are backing off earlier statements to The Chronicle that the victims may have dangled a limb over the animal's enclosure, helping the 350-pound cat escape. But they would not rule it out.
At a news conference this morning at the zoo, officials said there was no shoe found in the enclosure. On Wednesday, unnamed sources had said that authorities found a shoe and blood on the grass inside the enclosure; today, Police Chief Heather Fong said there was no shoe found in the grotto. A shoe was discovered near where the third victim was attacked, she said; and a shoeprint was also found on the railing of the waist-high fence surrounding the grotto.
...An examination of the tiger's body also revealed a significant amount of concrete in its back paws..
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I wonder what kind of wall will keep the lawyers penned in now?
btt
Come on folks, this is San Francisco. 20 feet or 12 feet, it is more important that the construction crew felt good about their work. Imposing rigid standard of measurements are counterproductive to producing a modern ego. And isn’t that what counts theses days? /snide
Gee....All NBA players can jump 12 ft :-)
Gee....All NBA players can jump 12 ft :-)
So now the so-called ‘enviromentalists’ will put this tiger down for being a tiger.
After a day of self-protecting insinuations sounds like the zoo ‘fessed up. I suspect they knew they couldn’t finesse themselves out of this one, with the likes of Jack Hanna getting involved—he isn’t going to shiny things up for that zoo for sure.
I went out today at lunch and had Mike McConnell on talk radio. A caller stated that George Bush cut back on fencing expense at this zoo, so thereby Bush is responsible. The caller also blamed Bush for not doing enough for education. Somehow, I thought the two statements were intimately linked but I’m confident the caller does not see it that way . . .
They also found that, contrary to numbers they had on file, the moat was 33 feet wide, which is sufficient to meet national standards.
(from the same article)
The people of SF can’t even run a zoo, yet they insist on trying to dictate how to run the country.
The cops already did it.
OOOPPPPPPSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
Good grief people... This does not have to be a mystery... someone give these people a tape measure.
Yes, but can they stand on and jump off of water?? :^)
The moat isn’t full of water. It’s just a big deep ditch, really, between the grass habitat area and the spectators.
So, apparently, can 350-pound tigers...
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