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San Fran: Escaped Zoo Tiger Kills 1; Injures 2


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The latest news report is saying that the tiger may have been teased by one of the victims dangling something over the cage causing the tiger to do something it normally wouldn't. There was a footprint, blood, and a shoe found between the 18 foot fence and a 20 foot moat. They think that someone was dangling something over the moat which may have caused the tiger to jump across.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/27/tiger.attack/index.html

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I know, I saw it on the news, That was terrible. It is cruel to keep animals locked up like that and when they get out we treat it like they've gone Loco!

Locked up like that? you know most animals in Zoos are there for conservation purposes right? In many cases the animals simply couldn't live in the wild because of some sort of injury or the like. Just so you know many animals in captivity, especially those at the Columbus Zoo, probably live a better more substantial life than you do!

It does sound as the tiger was taunted and used its inate animal instincts in the situation. I'm pretty sure that noone is calling the tiger loco, the person that taunted the animal however, well I cant speak on their behalf, sounds like they got their reward.

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I know, I saw it on the news, That was terrible. It is cruel to keep animals locked up like that and when they get out we treat it like they've gone Loco!

Animals in A.Z.A. accredited facilities are under no circumstance merely locked up. They are in fact

housed in "Habitats" Settings that are made to be as natural for the animal as possible.

When "Habitats" are constucted, it can often be a process of trial and error. In other words, all considerable factors are taken into consideration to provide what is best for the animal, what is best for the animal's keeper, and what is best for the guest. The very top priority for all 3 of these factors is safety. Sometimes, when an incident occurs, or is thought possible to occur, the animals habitat is altered. This does not just happen for safety issues. Sometimes it has to do with making the animal comfortable. In fact there are many variable factors that can be a reason for changing an animals habitat. A really good example of this actually involves this same tiger in an accident that occurred almost a year to the day of this one. The tiger managed to reach through and come into physical contact with one of it's trainers due to the bars in the animals enclosure being too wide apart. As a result the habitat was temporarily closed and altered.

I would hate to imagine that someone would have been foolish enough to actually try to taunt or tease a tiger ( or any animal for that matter ) Especially when such an action results in the death of someone, and injuries to others. On top of which the death of an endangered animal which was one of a zoological facilities breeding pair. No matter how you look at it, the end result is tragic, and an incident which never should have occurred.

Having my background with Zoological Facilities, ( for those who might want to know, Santa Fe Teaching Zoo, University of Florida Dept. of Animal Science, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Volunteering at Sea World, and now employment at The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden ) I have to be skeptical about this and I do not want to rush to any conclusions about what may have happened at this zoo with this tiger. The best thing to do is to wait and see what evidence is discovered, and pray for the full recovery of the 2 individuals who have been mauled by the animal.

I would also like to point out that the investigation may bring about something unexpected. Were the victims simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? Were they taunting the animal? If so, how and why? Did they have the smell of another animal on their skin or on their clothes? It is possible that even a cologne, or soap, lotion, or other HBA product set the animal off. The possibility of the animal being on some type of medication at the time might be likely. My point is that the possibilities are likely endless, and the truth of the occurrance may never be fully known. But it's not likely that this has anything to do with the animals housing, or an animal "going loco" as a previous statement had suggested.

I wanted to remain quiet, but I had a strong sense of urgency to respond to this topic.

thank you

m.f.

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I know, I saw it on the news, That was terrible. It is cruel to keep animals locked up like that and when they get out we treat it like they've gone Loco!

So zoos have no place in society?

You do realize that if zoos did not keep animals, that many would be extinct? And not extinct because they are in zoos, but because they were not studied on how to keep them alive in the wild.

This is a tragic story. And thanks to marlfox_21 for the insight.

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From what I saw this morning on the Today Show, someone who works for the Zoo has stated that their walls for the tiger exhibit are something like four feet smaller than recommended. Seems to me that fatality + insufficient walls = lawsuit for the zoo. Not saying whether or not the families should sue, but we all know it will be coming soon unless somehow any of the victims were involved in the tiger's escape.

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The walls were lower than the "recomended" height, of 16'. Theirs was 12'10".

Plus they had the moat. The A.Z.A. never raised a concern about the height of the walls, so I don't think that would be enough for a lawsuit, unless the tiger got out another way because of human error.

Jack Hannah was on the news here. He said he has been to that zoo several times, and that they have world class facility. Knowing the type of enclosure that they have for the tigers, he is very confused as to how the tiger could have got out of the enclosure without help.

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On the animals being locked up in a place like that its completly false. The animals don't even know they are locked up since most of the areas are desinged in such a manner that the barriers are invisble and are built into the area. Like fish. They live in a small aquarmuim but they dont realize its small because thats all they know. You have to realize animals dont have the same brain capcity as humans do.

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From what I saw this morning on the Today Show, someone who works for the Zoo has stated that their walls for the tiger exhibit are something like four feet smaller than recommended. Seems to me that fatality + insufficient walls = lawsuit for the zoo. Not saying whether or not the families should sue, but we all know it will be coming soon unless somehow any of the victims were involved in the tiger's escape.

Not necessarily insufficient. The guideline for the walls height was put into place in the mid 70's, as what was meant to be a safety precaution with the growing popularity of zoo's, wild places, and zoo's growing recognition for animal care and animal studies. The same guideline states that any A.Z.A. zoo containing a wall did not have to suffer the expense of raising the height if it was built before the new regulation was put into place. So based on this, the tigers habitat satisfies A.Z.A. Accreditation standards. Which is probable to be the reason why it was overlooked the last time the A.Z.A. went through the site to ensure the zoo was operating under strict codes and regulations.

Let me assure everyone here that A.Z.A. Accreditation is not given lightly. It is earned, severely.

These walks from Association of Zoo and Aquarium representatives are very strict. Measurements are taken on even the very smallest and unexpected of levels. For an example, at the Santa Fe Teaching Zoo, in Gainesville Florida, The zoo was made to shovel a simple pile of mulch over just a foot because it was too close to the public trail, and presented a possible tripping hazard, if someone walked OFF OF the trail. This list goes on and on. They inspect everything from space in the animals habitat, to keeper, vet, public, and animal safety, cleanliness for the public, the staff, and the animals, and so on. And on top of this, there is a mountain of paperwork, which includes a history of the animals daily behaviors, cause for change in behavior, and treatment, if any. This requirement of animal data is a big reason why A.Z.A. facilities will not perform animal exchanges, or loans with private owners. The information to protect the animal, staff, and public for the individual animal is just not there. In other words, they take these things, very, very seriously. I am completely convinced that this was a freak occurance, which probably will bring about the question, are the facilities barriers high enough?, and will probably bring about many other questions as well.

keep posting what you find out about this topic.

it is very interesting, and zoos all over the world are learning from it.

m.f.

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I wonder if the 12 foot walls includes the depth of the moat they are talking about. So it looks like they are saying that the tiger swam through the moat and then scaled the 12 foot wall. If that really is the case, that tiger was on a mission to get what she wanted or the moat was pretty shallow. This is a really sad story. I feel bad for the families and I also feel bad for the tiger.

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The walls were lower than the "recomended" height, of 16'. Theirs was 12'10".

Plus they had the moat. The A.Z.A. never raised a concern about the height of the walls, so I don't think that would be enough for a lawsuit, unless the tiger got out another way because of human error.

Jack Hannah was on the news here. He said he has been to that zoo several times, and that they have world class facility. Knowing the type of enclosure that they have for the tigers, he is very confused as to how the tiger could have got out of the enclosure without help.

Not enough for a lawsuit?

The simple fact that a death occurred at the location is enough for litigation.

Man, it places the zoo in a very bad position having information come out that walls were less than the recommended heights. This was something that had to have been known by someone at the zoo. If the tiger got out over this wall, it would not be good for the zoo.

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It has also been cited in several news articles that according to police dispatcher records, the zoo forbade police entry into the facility for some time after their arrival. And that the zoo employee who contacted emergency dispatch at first thought the two injured brothers were "800," apparent police dispatching shorthand for psychologically unbalanced....

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It has also been cited in several news articles that according to police dispatcher records, the zoo forbade police entry into the facility for some time after their arrival. And that the zoo employee who contacted emergency dispatch at first thought the two injured brothers were "800," apparent police dispatching shorthand for psychologically unbalanced....

Seems that they may be attributing that to intoxication but I've not seen any blood panel results yet.

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