Posted on 01/03/2008 6:12:02 AM PST by Red in Blue PA
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Police are investigating whether several items found in the enclosure of a tiger who fatally mauled a 17-year-old man show that the animal was attacked or taunted, San Francisco Zoo spokesman Sam Singer said Wednesday.
Police are examining a large rock, a tree branch and other items, Singer said.
"They [police] are trying to make a determination that those items or any other things that happened on Christmas Day were part of some attack on the tiger or something that angered Tatiana, causing her to come out of her cage," the spokesman said.
San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong has said that a shoe print found on the railing at the tiger enclosure is being examined to determine if one of the victims climbed over the rail or threw their leg over the side.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I am trying to envision the zoo that would fit into your safety parameters. Let’s see-
Defanged vipers-(they could actually BITE a zoo worker or something!
Large constrictors-(these shall be displayed in steel pipes with only their head and a 1 foot section of tail visible, for obvious reasons)
Elephants with shortened trunks-( the fact that they now resemble 4 ton pigs with floppy ears does not matter-they could grab a worker or taunting gangbanger with those as easily as a peanut)
Gators and crocs shall have their jaws wrapped in “safety orange” or “chartreuse” tape.- ( can’t be havin’ no gangbanger gumbo in the pond when the drunks hop the fence and fall in)
Bears— ( Little boy to Dad at bear display....gee, Daddy, he looks awfully small and does not move! what’s the tag in his ear for? what does “Stieff” mean, Dad?)
Meerkats-(will be sedated, they’re dangerously energetic)
Great Apes-( Apparently, these are allowed to roam free on grounds and taunt whatever they want-No change in policy)
Tigers-(These will henceforth be displayed in yellow and black warning colors that scream out-I AM A BIG BADASS CAT, IT’S BAD ENOUGH BEING LOCKED UP AND OGLED BY YOU WEAK LITTLE HAIRLESS CHUMPS-IF YOU GIVE ME THE CHANCE I WILL KILL YOU)
wait, they already are....
“The brothers tried to get help for Sousa after attempts to stop the tiger failed, attorney Mark Geragos said.”
They say they tried to stop the tiger from killing their friend. OK.... let’s proceed.
“The animal first mauled Sousa and Paul Dhaliwal about 4:30 p.m., the attorney said, according to AP. While Sousa was seriously hurt, Paul Dhaliwal escaped, and he and his brother ran 300 yards to a zoo cafe where they had earlier eaten.”
“But the siblings were denied entry to the cafe because the zoo was closing, the AP reported. At that point the brothers lost sight of the tiger. The brothers then saw a female security guard who appeared “diffident” when she was informed of the escaped tiger, Geragos said, according to AP. “
OK. One of these guys claims to have been mauled by the tiger. He and a friend run to the cafe, and are turned away, even though he is supposedly bloody.
Then they see a security guard who is ‘diffident’ (whatever) , even though he is supposedly bloody.
Yeah. I believe those young men’s stories. (NOT).
Yeah there is real easy test to confirm your point, Place yourself at the scene, does it matter if the TIger Was "Tuanted" out of its enclosure, or it just jumped out because the Tiger thought like it seemed the thing to do at the time.
Would not matter a whit to me!
Things like which direction to run and can I outrun anyone else in the crowd and does the Zoo sell clean underwear is going to be some of my first questions.
She was talking about what the lion was doing, not the Dhaliwals.
How can you possibly argue the fact the wall was too low? It takes no great leap of logic to understand that if the Tiger cleared the fence, for WHATEVER reason, the fence was not high enough. The height of the retaining structure needs to be based on the animals ability to clear it UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, including taunting, thunder or whatever else may set the animal off.
Really? Then why was the tiger bristling? Just for the fun of it? Or were these thugs TAUNTING THE TIGER as she claimed?
More proof that you didn't read the article. She was a TIGER.
Few here would blame the freight train and the railroad as they have the tiger, though.
___________
I don’t know that I’ve read a single post over the last week or so suggesting that the tiger was to blame. Those not siding with the yutes on this seem more to be suggesting that the height of the wall was inadequate, which seems obviously true in retrospect.
If the yutes taunted, then they clearly were in a position to avoid the situation, but the mere fact that under any circumstances, a tiger being able to escape its enclosure should give us all pause.
Tatiana was bred in captivity. She has never roamed a jungle. She was put in a box.
About 200 years ago, a Mr. Ward stuffed animals for display. We had a museum filled with various species in dioramas. It was exquisite. It was the right way!!
What's unbelievable about it? When the first call to 911 was made by a zoo employee, he (or she) said he didn't believe the kid's story, thought he was crazy, though he did note that one of the kids was bleeding from the back of the head. Apparently no tiger was visible at that point.
Twenty minutes or so later, the police come in, find the guys still outside, still exposed (if you were attacked by a tiger wouldn't you want to get inside some place if anyone would let you?) and both of them mauled with the tiger sitting near them.
All seems to fit, to me anyway.
No, it is not the same. A person knows that the train will continue down the track, whether they are on the tracks or not. Those men did not know that the tiger could escape. They might have been thugs, they might have been cruel, but they were not necessarily stupid. It was reasonable to believe that they were safe from the tiger's retaliation. The tiger should not have been able to get out under any circumstances.
And I do not blame the tiger. She was being a tiger. I blame the zoo. The wall did NOT meet the minimum guidelines.
Then you haven’t been reading that much. I’ve seen some posters saying the tiger should have been killed years ago. So yes, the tiger is being blamed, the zoo is being blamed, and some have even suggested that blaming the thugs is somehow “blaming the victims.”
This witness was apparently not THAT concerned or they would have reported it before they left.
Sorry, I read read you wrong then. Please accept my apology.
"I believe there is also a moat."
Unfilled, which defeats the purpose.
I don't think so - tigers love the water. An unfilled moat might be more effective in deterring a tiger.
Am I stuttering on line or something? read read...geeeeeez
Not really. Witnessses tend to just leave a situation like this rather than protest, especially when there are four thuggy looking men involved. Who wants to put their kids at risk? The lady did the right thing—she got her kids OUT of there before the real trouble started.
Seems to me, if you taunt a tiger, you better make real sure the beast can’t get to you.
Let’s face it. They fouled up. They trusted the zoo.
If these boys were ‘taunting’ the tiger ; ok, they should have been ejected from the zoo. They should not have been subject to death and maiming. Bottom line; the tiger escaped from its “escape proof” enclosure.
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