Re: Report: S.F. Tiger May Have Been Taunted

On Dec 27, 6:54 pm, "chapbill...@xxxxxxxxx" <chapbill...@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
On Dec 27, 8:41 am, chatnoir <wolfbat3...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



http://my.earthlink.net/article/nat?guid=20071227/47733150_3421_13345....

Report: S.F. Tiger May Have Been Taunted
By MAY WONG (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
December 27, 2007 9:24 AM EST
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Police are reportedly investigating whether one or
more of the young men mauled by a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo may
have taunted the animal before its deadly rampage, a possibility the
father of one of the victims said Thursday he hoped wasn't true.

"I don't think my son would do something like taunt animals," Carlos
Sousa told ABC's "Good Morning America." "It's unbelievable, but only
the evidence can prove that. And right now I can't say much."

His son, Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, was one of three men attacked by a
Siberian tiger around closing time on Christmas. Police shot the 300-
pound animal to death after it killed Sousa and severely mauled two
brothers who also were visiting the zoo.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, police found a shoe and
blood in an area between the gate and the edge of the animal's 25- to
30-foot-wide moat, prompting the possibility that one of the victims
dangled a leg or other body part over the edge of the moat.

Police on Thursday could not confirm the Chronicle's report to The
Associated Press.

"I don't think this deserves to happen to anybody - taunting or not
taunting," Carlos Sousa told ABC. "Animals should be protected from
the people and the people should be protected from the animals."

Police Chief Heather Fong said Wednesday the department 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."

The zoo was to remain closed Thursday.

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, said such a leap would be an
unbelievable feat and "virtually impossible."

Instead, he speculated that visitors could have been fooling around
and might have taunted the animal and perhaps even helped it get out
by, say, putting a board in the moat.

Ron Magill, a spokesman at the Miami Metro Zoo, said it was unlikely a
zoo tiger could make such a leap, even with a running start.

"Captive tigers aren't nearly in the kind of shape that wild tigers
have to be in to survive," he said. He said taunting can definitely
make an animal more aggressive, but "whether it makes it more likely
to get out of an exhibit is purely speculative."

The same tiger, a 4-year-old female named Tatiana, ripped the flesh
off a zookeeper's arm just before Christmas a year ago while the woman
was feeding the animal through the bars. A state investigation faulted
the zoo, which installed better equipment at the Lion House, where the
big cats are kept.

Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo said Wednesday he gave no thought to
destroying Tatiana after the 2006 incident, because "the tiger was
acting as a normal tiger does." As for whether Tatiana showed any
warning signs before Tuesday's attack, Mollinedo said: "She seemed to
be very well-adjusted into that exhibit."

It was unclear how long the tiger had been loose before it was killed.
The three visitors were attacked around closing time Tuesday on the
125-acre zoo grounds. Four officers hunted down and shot the animal
after police got a 911 call from a zoo employee.

The zoo has a response team that can shoot animals. But zoo officials
and police described the initial moments after the escape as chaotic.

The first attack happened right outside the tiger's enclosure - Sousa
died at the scene. Another was about 300 yards away, in front of the
zoo cafe. The police chief said the animal was mauling one of the
survivors, and when officers yelled at it to stop, it turned toward
them and they opened fire.

Only then did they see the third victim, police said.

The two injured men, 19- and 23-year-old brothers from San Jose, were
in stable condition Wednesday at San Francisco General Hospital. They
suffered deep bites and claw wounds on their heads, necks, arms and
hands, said Dr. Rochelle Dicker, a surgeon. She said they were
expected to recover fully.

Sousa's parents told the AP they didn't know why their son went to the
zoo Tuesday, but it should have been a fun Christmas Day activity.

"It's not a safe place for kids," said his mother, Marilza Sousa.
"People go there to have a good time, not to get killed."

It is inevitable, when you keep wild animals in less than livable
conditions, they get loose and attack. They do that which is
natural.And they are murdered for it.
When are we as a society going to evolve to the point where we respect
living creatures?
Headlines should have read,"Tiger Murdered, People Held Accountable!"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/comments/view?f=/c/a/2007/12/27/MN7RU5I8P.DTL

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