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Tiger attacks three visitors at San Francisco Zoo
Everyone loves going to the zoo (except, of course, the people who don't). It's our way to get up close and personal with a wide variety of beautiful, exotic animals, without any chance of attacks or danger. Well, not so fast.
Yesterday, a Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped from her enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo and attacked three people, killing one and seriously injuring the two others. The tiger was shot and killed by police officers, but not before being responsible for the least funny thing to happen on Christmas since the release of The Santa Clause 3.
Investigators haven't discovered how Tatiana escaped from her enclosure, which is encircled by a 15-foot wide moat and a 20-foot-high wall, but they haven't ruled out negligence on the part of the zookeepers. This was not the tiger's first attack of a human-- it ate the flesh off a zookeeper's arm last December during a public feeding demonstration, horrifying a group of zoo patrons. Apparently everyone gets a little temperamental during the holidays.
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Filed under: Stories, United States, News
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tiffany Apr 1st 2008 10:08AM
tigers don't attack unless some-one prevokes them but when they do some-thing that they don't intend to do they shouldn't be put down that just makes me ticked off and that a beautifull creature is distroyed is wrong
Julia Rosien Dec 26th 2007 10:15AM
Yikes! I saw this story on the news this morning and I can't even imagine the terror. My heart goes out to those people affected.
tiffany Apr 1st 2008 10:03AM
i know how you feel but a tiger would not attack some-one unless they prevoked it first
Nikki Quinn Dec 26th 2007 2:20PM
The tiger enclosure was given a $250,000 security upgrade this year. More info here.
Crystal Dec 26th 2007 6:20PM
It's a very tragic and sad occurrence for the man who lost his life and the tiger. They should've put that tiger down last year when it mauled the zoo keeper. Obviously it did not want to be in captivity or had already lost it's mind. I suspect there will prime dollars paid out on this one to the injured and deceased's family since this is not the first time this particular Siberian tiger attacked someone. May that young man rest in peace, good Lord, what an awful way to die. I grew up very near to the SF Zoo it always felt very creepy and dark to me when I passed by. I never once visited it.
Anne Dec 27th 2007 11:24AM
This a tragedy for the people involved and for the tiger who lost its life.
Wild animals do not behave like sweet little kitty cats unless they have been bullied enough by humans to learn to acquiesce and perform as people want them to. In 2006 and this year, Tatiana was behaving as what she was: a wild animal, no more no less. It's disturbing how ignorant people are about wild animals -- why does anyone think that a tiger would not see a human as a potential food source and/or antagonist?
Now the question is how did the tiger get out of the grotto? Investigation is pointing to involvement in her escape by the people who were attacked.
A larger question is: are zoos really humane? They can exist as a source of education and a glimpse into the amazing life of wild animals, but too many are not geared that way.
Pete Dec 28th 2007 4:39AM
This may be one of the worst written stories I have ever seen published; from the first self-contradicting sentence to the wrong information concerning the depth of the moat. If you are going to point out that not everybody likes the zoo, then don't begin by saying that everybody likes the zoo. And, the moat surrounding the tiger's area is 15 feet wide. Nowhere does it say that it was 15 feet deep. The Author of this story needs to take writing classes or stop posting his work as if it were an informative news source.
KAT DRAG Dec 27th 2007 5:30PM
It should be interesting to see what actually happened. This cat kills one and then seeks and finds the other two guys from this group some 328 yards away through the zoo. She knew who she was looking for and must have been really pissed. Too bad they shot her. Don't they have tranquilizer guns?
Mauralynn Jan 4th 2008 9:50PM
The boys are 100% responsible they threw pine cones, stones at her then tried to tease her by climbing the fence. They should be jailed, charged with the death of the tiger-all the man hours it cost the zoo and live with the guilt of the death of their friend. Animals are precious-unconditional loving souls. I have NO empathy for those teenagers they should have know better! Cats dont have the thinking skills like those boys thought, planned, plotted. Who knows what they do to neighborhood animals for fun. Im still sad over the loss - of the tiger, I cant even sleep after seeing her dead!
Mauralynn Dec 31st 2007 12:18AM
Those boys are responsible 100% they threw pine cones, stones at her then tried to tease her by climbing the fence. They should be jailed, charged with the death of the tiger-all the man hours it cost the zoo and live with the guilt of the death of their friend. Animals are precious-unconditional loving souls. I have NO empathy for those teenagers they should have know better! I have had sleepless nights thinking how horribly the beautiful pussycat had to die-needlessly if those boys stayed home!
Mauralynn Jan 4th 2008 9:58PM
My heart goes out to the tiger and what could have been all her beautiful babies that will never be. Those boys that survived should have at least lost the use of their legs because they will take those legs and walk to another zoo and do it again. The boys have no remorse its obvious by their reaction after the fact. I hope they go to jail and meet up with Billy Bob the Tiger lover.
Mauralynn Jan 4th 2008 10:02PM
I hope those boys go to jail and meet BILLY BOB THE TIGER LOVER and he pokes them the way they tried to poke, hurt the tiger! Do you realize how many babies Tatiiana could have had and the long legacy she could have left behind-she never should have been killed.
Megan Jan 20th 2008 11:48PM
Tatiana bit the arm during a feeding and she didn't do it intentionally. She thought the arm was part of the meat the zoo keeper was putting through the shoot. Tatiana didn't deserve to die. They were taunting her. Time will tell. They are slowing confessing to taunting Tatiana. They don't want to be arrested. If police tell them they wont be arrested I bed the truth will come out.