Escaped tiger kills one person and inuries others

[Tokis-Phoenix]

"A tiger escaped from its pen at the San Francisco Zoo on Tuesday, killing one man and injuring two others before police shot it dead, authorities said.

The three men―all in their 20s―were attacked just after 5 p.m. (local time) outside the zoo's Terrace Cafe on the east end of the thousand-acre grounds, police spokesperson Steve Mannina said.

It was unclear how the tiger escaped or how long it was on the loose. The Siberian tiger, named Tatiana, attacked a zookeeper last December during a public feeding, according to the zoo's director of animal care and conservation.

The zoo, which is open 365 days a year, was evacuated immediately after the attack was reported";

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071226-AP-tiger-escap.html




My main issue with this is that they shot the tiger, i think that they should have darted the tiger with tranquiliser darts instead and then retrieved the tiger alive to put it back in a secure enclosure. IMHO Siberian tigers are far too rare for people to shoot them, all the people needed to do was distract the tiger to lull it away from the people to then shoot it with tranquiliser darts.
I think at the end of the day the zoo was obviously unprepared for this sort of situation, and thats not even taking into consideration how such a large cat managed to escape in the first place (and they should have certainly kept a better eye on it in particular because it had been known to be violent towards people in the past).

At the end of the day, tigers are wild animals- even when kept in captivity and raised by people, they will always wild animals at heart, incidences like what happened with Seigfried and Roy (in 2003 Roy was injured by one of his tigers which he had hand-raised from a cub when the tiger when for Roys throat during a performance and bit Roys shoulder) only go to prove stuff like this. For more on the incident, see this link below;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_&_Roy


Tigers are not like animals like dogs where dogs have been bred for thousands of years where people have bred out many of the wild wolf like wild nature of dogs, tigers will always be tigers and will never be like pussycats. I often think people underestimate such animals i think more should be done to reduce the stress levels of such animals when kept in captivity in places like zoo's (some zoo's are very good at giving tigers vast enclosures which replicate the animals natural habitat, but there are a lot of zoo's where this is not really the case). I think zoo's often force their animals to be on display too much all the time to people to help rake in money, but i think this often stresses many animals out, even the ones who's life has only known the zoo environment.

What do you think?

[Derfel]

Its rather obvious for me. That breed is in the Cites book, about to go extinct, humans aren't, so I say lets risk those lives, and capture the beast alive.
Also, it was human idiocy to bring that animal into human environment, so why the hell should that poor tiger die because of some retarded morons decision, for the fun of cretins?
Shoot the one who ordered to kill the tiger, and kill the one who carried out, that would satisfy me. We take more from nature than we need, more than we can eat or use, who gave us right to do that? Who gave us the right to keep staring at an imprisoned animal? Its fine if they put horses and pigs on display, but isn't it damn obvious? Predators hate to be confined, more than any other animal.

[Homerduff]

In a life or death situation like this one, the police can't afford to call up a person from the zoo that can use a weapon with tranquiliser darts. I wouldn't doubt a second to kill the tiger if other people's lives are in danger. It's a shame that this had to happen though.

I think that in most civilised countries zoo's do have high standards. Ofcourse the animals kept in zoo's are a different part of their species. They won't make a chance if they would be put back in a wild environment. You can say that it's moraly wrong, but then again the animals don't suffer from it.

What bothers me most are circus animals. Thinking of it, I always get this image of animals kept in small caravans touring around the world.

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Its rather obvious for me. That breed is in the Cites book, about to go extinct, humans aren't, so I say lets risk those lives, and capture the beast alive.
Also, it was human idiocy to bring that animal into human environment, so why the hell should that poor tiger die because of some retarded morons decision, for the fun of cretins?



I have to agree with you there to a certain extent, although of course no one should be expected to die for a tigers sake, siberian tigers are such rare animals now days, that every tiger really does count in the survival of the species as a whole, the killing of the tiger should have been avoided at all costs (which from what i have gathered, wasn't really the case- people were too quick to make the descision to shoot the animal, i don't get why they didn't use tranquiliser darts instead of bullets).

[Derfel]

Obviously, both zoo's and circuses should be banned. My opinion is: If you don't bloody eat that animal, leave it alone.
Why not tranq. shot? Cause they're morons who care more for their evening beer than an "overgrown cat", as they see it.

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Obviously, both zoo's and circuses should be banned. My opinion is: If you don't bloody eat that animal, leave it alone.
Why not tranq. shot? Cause they're morons who care more for their evening beer than an "overgrown cat", as they see it.



Hmm i do think some zoo's have a good purpose in this day and age, although i think circuses are out-dated and large exotic animal acts should probably be banned.

The reason why i think zoo's are important is because the environment is in a bad way these days are many wild habitats are shrinking or being destroyed altogether, so many animals are declining in numbers and are becomming threatenend or extinct, we are destroying and poluting so many natural habitats etc.
So basically, the more the general public become interested in wild animals, the more likely they are to want to help save the these animals and the habitats they live in. This is where zoo's come into play- by allowing people to see exotic animals up close, it helps get people interested in them (people will care more about an animal they've seen and bonded with, looking at it in awe and respect etc), which is very good in particular if people can get interested in such animals from a young age so young generations can grow up actually caring about these things.

I don't like zoo's where the animals are kept in small pens or enclosures and where the animals are forced to be in constant view to the public all day long and where the animal has little in its environment which reflects its natural habitat.
But i do like zoo's which spend money on giving their animals large pens and enclosures, and give their animals plenty of time out from the glare of the public eye, and help try and replicate the animals natural habitat and diets as much as they can (which is also good because it is educational for people too as well as beneficial to the well being of the animals), and spend money on breeding programs for rare animals and furthering the research on breeding animals and understanding them etc :cool: .

[Derfel]

There's a solution. Kill poachers, not just scare them, not just arrest them, kill them. That would save loads and loads of animals from going extinct. You might ask why? Some people might say: "WAAAHHH!! YOU MONSTER!!" But I don't care. I honestly don't care if those poachers are starving, not a bit, at least not when it comes to the survival of a breed. Evolution sure took its time, and those animals developed over thousands and millions of years, we can't afford to let them die. Who cares if illegal hunters and stuff are humans? Who the hell cares? Humans are just animals as well, but we got the brains, so it would seem obvious that we should look after the dumber species. Its considered just to kill for resources, kill criminals that fight back, and I don't argue that it indeed is justified, but hey, why not kill for the sake of other species? For the sake of rare species, ones that would otherwise go extinct.

[centrajapan]

The tiger was stressed out and probably hungry. From time to time humans get killed because of a bear and then humans start to hunt the killer bear branded a murderer.

[Sarapva]

I wonder if the tiger even knew he was hurting people - sometimes when I hear about attacks like this it sounds like the animal might have been trying to play (but of course didn't know it's own strength).

I think endangered animals ought to be kept in sanctuaries in more natural conditions, not held captive in cages. Animals shouldn't be kept for circuses at all.

[Derfel]

A carnivore might bite or claw the nearest thing when experiencing an overwhelming sensation, be it negative or positive. Their nerves are simply too weak to take the stress.

[MadamePapillon]

[QUOTE=Sarapva;541289]I wonder if the tiger even knew he was hurting people - sometimes when I hear about attacks like this it sounds like the animal might have been trying to play (but of course didn't know it's own strength).
[QUOTE]

I wouldn't be surprised if the tiger, or any animal that attacks when in captivity, isn't just doing it on purpose.
If I were kept in a fake habitat or in a cage with very little to do day after day but get stared at, if I got out I'd probably want to do a little damage before I got caught or escaped.
And I'm not even a big cat. It has to be infuriating for them to not be able to hunt or run or anything.

[Uncle Frank]

Let's look at it from the police officer's point of view. You get a call that people are being killed by a very big and very dangerous animal. Your main job, the one you are trained to do is protect people. You have a family you want to go home to alive at the end of your shift. Now with your puny little police pistol and maybe a 12 gauge shotgun, you have to take on a moving target that is very hard to kill and could kill you even if you do hit it. It's dark out when you arrive on the scene and see people covered in blood , people running and screaming everywhere, a tiger ready to kill you or the people who you are paid to protect at any second. If I were the policeman, I would be wetting my pants in fear, but know I have to do something right this second to save lives, which means shooting the tiger.
To suggest they hop in their car and call in someone with a tranquiizer gun while the tiger continues his rampage probably was not an option. I do believe if the tiger had been contained and there was plenty of time to dart it, they would have tried. It will be interesting to find out just how the tiger did get out, human error, or one heck of a giant leap over a moat & wall.

Uncle Frank

:?

[scorpion da black]

that is one wesome tiger :p

[Mavrek]

I feel sorry for that gy who lost his life .I will not support that they kill the tiger. They must use the tranquilizer to cope with the tiger.It looks that they kill the tiger to avoid the reaction of the people .The tiger was not a criminal. He escaped and did instinctively ,he was not a pussy cat .The persons who are responsible for the escape then must be dealt the same way as they did with the tiger.

[Elizabeth]

I feel sorry for that gy who lost his life .I will not support that they kill the tiger. They must use the tranquilizer to cope with the tiger.It looks that they kill the tiger to avoid the reaction of the people .The tiger was not a criminal. He escaped and did instinctively ,he was not a pussy cat .The persons who are responsible for the escape then must be dealt the same way as they did with the tiger.
The investigation now is on whether the tiger was clearly instigated into a rampage. I'm personally going to wait until a plausible story emerges and all the facts have been pieced together before making a judgement.


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

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Let's look at it from the police officer's point of view. You get a call that people are being killed by a very big and very dangerous animal. Your main job, the one you are trained to do is protect people. You have a family you want to go home to alive at the end of your shift. Now with your puny little police pistol and maybe a 12 gauge shotgun, you have to take on a moving target that is very hard to kill and could kill you even if you do hit it. It's dark out when you arrive on the scene and see people covered in blood , people running and screaming everywhere, a tiger ready to kill you or the people who you are paid to protect at any second. If I were the policeman, I would be wetting my pants in fear, but know I have to do something right this second to save lives, which means shooting the tiger.
To suggest they hop in their car and call in someone with a tranquiizer gun while the tiger continues his rampage probably was not an option. I do believe if the tiger had been contained and there was plenty of time to dart it, they would have tried. It will be interesting to find out just how the tiger did get out, human error, or one heck of a giant leap over a moat & wall.
Uncle Frank
:?




My point is that the zoo should have had tranquiliser darts and people able to fire them anyway in the first place, at least in my country this is often the case with a lot of zoo's and parks. IMHO zoo's should always make sure they have a good plan of action for any potential situation, particularly when the zoo is keeping dangerous animals, but in this zoo's case they just seemed to painick and act disorganised and clueless.

It also turns out that the director of a US zoo where an escaped tiger killed one man has admitted that the wall around the tiger enclosure was lower than recommended;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7162290.stm?lsm



This whole thing is basically a big ****-up, the tiger ended up being killed because of the mistakes and negligence of the people in charge of the zoo.

[Elizabeth]

My point is that the zoo should have had tranquiliser darts and people able to fire them anyway in the first place, at least in my country this is often the case with a lot of zoo's and parks. IMHO zoo's should always make sure they have a good plan of action for any potential situation, particularly when the zoo is keeping dangerous animals, but in this zoo's case they just seemed to painick and act disorganised and clueless.

The bottom line is that a non-lethal shot would take time to have an effect and this animal was on the verge of either fatally mauling a second victim or, if distracted, charging the police themselves. It had to be disabled fully and instantaneously and the zoo guys, whether they had tranquilizers or not, were rightly more concerned with the absolute protection of innocent human lives within the situation they were confronting. Thankfully no shots were fired randomly or in haste which would have no doubt have left more people severely injured if not killed.

[orochi]

Tigers killing people need to be shot dead.

[Derfel]

Tigers killing people need to be shot dead.

People invading in nature's domain and torturing animals for entertainment too.

[sabro]

Tokis, although I agree with you, I don't see how the police had much of a choice based upon training and equipment. I believe they saved lives. (Poor Tatiana...)

The zoo did have a response team, but it didn't show up in time and probably would not have made any difference.

Beside the wall being five and a half feet shorter than they reported... there are many disturbing facts that seem to be comming out. Siberian tigers are endangered and should be taken care of a bit better than this. A struggling zoo that needs the public needs to take care of the humans a bit better, too.

[nice gaijin]

new developments in the story: (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5405492.html)
Dec. 27, 2007, 3:41PM
Details emerge from San Francisco Zoo tiger attack

By KEVIN FAGAN
San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO — It was a nightmare of carnage and confusion, with police attempting to find an escaped tiger that fatally mauled one San Francisco Zoo visitor and then apparently followed a trail of blood to attack two of his friends.

When police arrived at the zoo on Christmas evening, they were hampered by a lack of emergency lights, video surveillance cameras and maps. They didn't know how many animals might be on the loose or how many victims might have been injured.

The minimal evidence found at the scene included a shoe and blood in the 25-foot-wide moat that surrounds the tigers' grotto, raising questions about what role, if any, the victims might have had in accidentally helping the animal escape.

The three victims, all young men from San Jose, were visiting the zoo together. They were each present when the tiger escaped, killed 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. with a savage slash to the throat, and injured the other two.

The names of the survivors, who are brothers ages 19 and 23, have not been released by authorities.

The brothers were in stable condition today at San Francisco General Hospital and were expected to be released within a few days, said Dr. William Schechter, chief of surgery. They suffered deep bites and claw wounds on their heads, necks, arms and hands, but were expected to recover fully.

The injured victims fled, and the tiger apparently followed them under rapidly darkening skies for 300 yards down a zoo pathway. As the tiger cornered and attacked one of the brothers, four police officers arrived, distracted the animal and shot it dead.

Zoo officials said they are trying to figure out how the 4-year-old Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped from her enclosure shortly after the zoo's 5 p.m. closing time.

No doors to the grotto had been left ajar, they said. The animal is the same one who attacked a zookeeper almost exactly a year ago.

Officials speculated that one of the victims may have been dangling a leg or other body part over the 14-foot grotto wall and that Tatiana latched onto the limb and climbed out. Police sources said a footprint had been found on a metal fence, suggesting that someone had climbed it to get closer to the big cats.

Zoo Director Manuel Mollinedo said it was also likely that the animal was provoked.

"Somebody created a situation that really agitated her and gave her some sort of a method to break out," Mollinedo said. "There is no possible way the cat could have made it out of there in a single leap. I would surmise that there was help.

"A couple of feet dangling over the edge could possibly have done it," he added.

Sources said pinecones and sticks that were found in the moat might have been thrown at the animal. Those items could not have landed in the grotto naturally, they said.

However, police Sgt. Neville Gittens maintained that there was no reason to think that the victims were taunting the tiger.

The two survivors were in serious but stable condition Wednesday following surgery at San Francisco General Hospital, doctors said.

The zoo, which closed Wednesday, will remain shut today so that police continue their investigation. Mollinedo said he hopes the zoo will reopen Friday, but the tigers and lions will not be on display for at least a week.

Confusion during search

The hunt for the escaped tiger Tuesday was confused and chaotic, with police and paramedics frantically scrambling through the 1,000-acre zoo grounds to locate victims after discovering Sousa's body.

There are no surveillance cameras pointed at the big cats' grottos, so officers could not find out from zoo security guards what animal or animals had escaped. Initial calls for help didn't say what sort of animal had escaped, sources said. The lack of cameras also has made it difficult to ascertain how the attacks occurred.

Police said the investigation will focus on physical evidence collected at the zoo, witness statements, an autopsy of the victim and the necropsy of the tiger.

New cameras and a metal barrier will be installed to protect the public from the tigers and lions, Mollinedo said.

As darkness deepened Tuesday, officers found that the modest level of zoo lighting was insufficient to illuminate the trees, foliage and public areas where they initially feared that more animals might be lurking or more victims might be found. Firefighters standing on tall ladders outside the zoo illuminated the grounds with portable lights to help the search.

"We didn't know how many tigers were out," Mollinedo said. "I (was) under the impression we had two or three cats escaping. There was a sense of paranoia around here."

Investigators canvassed the zoo for hours Wednesday morning before finally determining that nobody else had been hurt.

Tiger tracked other victims

A Fire Department source said three paramedics found Sousa's body, with a wide gash across the neck, lying near the grotto. The enclosure is surrounded by a 25- to 30-foot-wide moat and a 14-foot-high wall.

The paramedics and an ambulance driver were told of additional victims outside the Terrace Cafe restaurant, about 300 yards east. When they arrived, they found the tiger standing over one of the brothers.

The paramedics and driver were soon joined by the four police officers, who distracted the tiger with the red lights of their two patrol cars before shooting her to death with their .40-caliber handguns.

Gittens said the officers did not want to shoot the animal while she was sitting next to the victim.

"I can only imagine the patrons walking around, and suddenly seeing this tiger," he said. "It was probably surreal."

Police were treating the zoo as a crime scene Wednesday. Yellow police tape surrounded the area near the cafe where the animal was slain.

It's not known why the tiger singled out the three visitors or why she tracked down the two wounded victims, apparently ignoring other zoo patrons.

Rochelle Dicker, an emergency room surgeon at San Francisco General Hospital who operated on the victims, said Wednesday that the two survivors were recovering remarkably well.

They were awake and stable, Dicker said.

Doctors are focusing on preventing infection from the bacteria that may be present in the men's wounds, she said. That bacteria is similar to the type found in the common house cat, officials said.

The zoo was eerily quiet on the day after the tragedy. The cafe where the attack victims were found was shuttered and still, and a dozen police officers gathered with zoo officials nearby, poring over maps and handing out equipment.

Zookeepers held a staff meeting and also met with grief counselors.

Visitors continued to filter up to the entrance, unaware of what had happened.

"Oh my gosh! I hadn't heard anything about a tiger," said one visitor, Komer Poodari of San Jose. "I guess we'll go to Fisherman's Wharf."

Mollinedo said the zoo has a response team armed with tranquilizers and firearms, but that the scene unfolded "so quickly that the officers found (Tatiana) first."

Earlier attack

This is the second time in just over a year that this same tiger attacked a human.

On Dec. 22, 2006, Tatiana chewed the flesh off zookeeper Lori Komejan's arm in front of about 50 visitors lingering in the Lion House after the cats were fed.

A state investigation later ruled that the zoo was at fault for the attack because of the way the cages were configured.

"There was never any consideration for putting her down. The tiger was acting like a normal tiger," Mollinedo said.

The public feeding demonstrations at the Lion House resumed in September after about $250,000 in safety upgrades. The city, which helps fund the zoo, is facing a lawsuit from Komejan and is assessing whether it is liable for the Christmas Day mauling, officials said.

Mollinedo has brought in colleagues from other accredited zoos to do a thorough analysis of the big cat exhibits.

"We want to make sure they are safe and see what kind of modifications should be done to ensure the safety" of people and animals, he said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will "in most likelihood" investigate the zoo's tiger facility, said agency spokesman Jim Brownlee.

Inspectors from the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which oversees the nation's zoos, will "probably be on location very soon," Brownlee said Wednesday night.

"We would look at the whole situation in a comprehensive manner," he said.

Other zoos await details

Keepers at other U.S. zoos said they were waiting for more details about the San Francisco attack before deciding whether to make changes in their tiger enclosures or security procedures. Moats and sheer walls are common methods of protecting visitors from large animals at outdoor zoo exhibits.

"We still don't know what happened," said Tony Vecchio, director of the Oregon Zoo in Portland. "We know what animals can do and we build barriers that are taller and wider than that. But one of the rules in the zoo business is that animals will always surprise you."

San Francisco Chronicle reporters Jaxon VanDerbeken, Steve Rubenstein and Cecelia M. Vega contributed to this report.

[Uchite]

Tatiana was a beautiful, innocent Tiger who did what she had to do to protect herself and her fellow Tigers from these hoods who were firing at her with slingshots. And that includes the Police. They were/are hoods as well, as was the handler who stupidly put her hand in Tatiana's feeding area and got munched on.


http://forensicpsychologist.blogspot.com/2008/01/was-tatiana-tiger-attacked-with.html

http://forensicpsychologist.blogspot.com/2007/12/happy-new-year-san-francisco-zoo.html

What do you do when you are attacked by a Tiger who you attacked first? What else? Hire a famous lawyer!


Looks like Tatiana would love to have him for dinner:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4072527&page=1





Long live Tatiana! May she Rest In Peace!


http://www.myspace.com/rip_tatiana









"If you talk to the animals
they will talk with you
and you will understand each other.
If you do not talk to them
you will not know them,
and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears one destroys.”

Chief Dan George
1899-1981



http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-12/34431592.jpg

[scorpion da black]

that is an awesome post uchite san