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  #16
Old 28-12-2007

WOW didnt know any hippos in cicus',

it is belived he had a heart attck, fell, then sustained injuries by elephant.
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  #17
Old 28-12-2007

Great! There is hope for the elephant after all
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  #18
Old 28-12-2007

Latest reports on the news are that the guys might have been closer than they should have, but don't take it as gospel until it is confirmed.

Deadly US zoo tiger may have had escape help: report
December 28, 2007 - 6:03AM
Source: ABC

A tiger that escaped from its den at San Francisco Zoo and mauled three visitors, killing one, may have been helped out by one of its victims dangling a leg into its enclosure, reports said.

The San Francisco Chronicle said police found blood and a shoe inside the tiger exhibit and were probing the possibility that one of the victims may have placed a leg over the edge of a protective moat, aiding the tiger's escape.

Police and zoo officials are baffled as to how the animal managed to escape from an enclosure separated from the viewing area by the 6.1-metre deep moat and a wall taller than 20 feet.

The Chronicle cited unnamed sources close to the investigation as saying that evidence found at the scene "included a shoe and blood in an area between the gate and the edge of the ... moat."

The body of 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr was found near the exhibit. He had been killed by a slash to the throat.

The other two victims, brothers age 19 and 23 who accompanied Mr Sousa to the zoo, were present when the tiger escaped, the report said.

"The injured victims fled, leaving a trail of blood, which police believe the tiger followed up a zoo pathway," the report said.

The four-year-old tiger, named Tatiana, attacked one of the brothers before police were able to distract the animal and shoot it dead.

"Somebody created a situation that really agitated her and gave her some sort of a method to break out," zoo director Manuel Mollinedo was quoted as telling the newspaper.

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

The report also 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," according to the sources.

Still, police sergeant Neville Gittens cautioned that "there was no reason to think that the victims were taunting the tiger," it said. The two men have been recovering in hospital and are listed as serious but stable.

The 136-kilogram tiger attacked the arm of a zookeeper during a public feeding session at the facility last year.

Meanwhile, the grieving parents of the teenager killed in Tuesday's Christmas Day attack have criticised safety measures at the zoo.

"They didn't do enough for the public, because I think the zoo should be protective on both sides, protective for the people and protective for the animals," the boy's father, also called Carlos, told CNN.

Mr Sousa's mother meanwhile told the network that Christmas would never be the same for them. "This is supposed to be the day for giving, not to take," Marilza Sousa said. "And he was taken away from me."

- AFP
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  #19
Old 28-12-2007

Yes we have idiots here too
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  #20
Old 28-12-2007

Now the SF Zoo director has admitted the tiger enclosure doesn't meet national standards. The barrier walls are significantly shorter than previously thought.
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  #21
Old 29-12-2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zooish View Post
Now the SF Zoo director has admitted the tiger enclosure doesn't meet national standards. The barrier walls are significantly shorter than previously thought.
Is it possible that is because it was originally a Lion house..? Can Tigers jump better than Lions..?
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  #22
Old 29-12-2007

I have heard this before that Tigers are better jumpers than lions I have also read that some zoos have wider moats for Tigers than lions which would indercate this could be a fact
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  #23
Old 29-12-2007

Hopefully someone will know for sure...

If the moat don't meet national standards how come the zoo has AZA accreditation..?
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  #24
Old 29-12-2007

Yep, it's widely accepted that tigers can leap farther and higher than lions - based on experiments carried out many years ago by the great Carl Hagenbeck, the man who originated the "barless" zoo and was the first to use moats etc.

When Taronga kept its big cats in pits, the tiger pits were significantly deeper than the lions.
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  #25
Old 29-12-2007

The San Francisco Zoo was threatened with losing its accreditation about 3 years ago, after two elephants died and a number of the enclosures were badly in need of an upgrade. I've given a fairly comprehensive review of the zoo under the North American section on the general forum, and I've praised a number of new exhibits that are rather impressive. However, the awful elephant enclosure was shut-down for good, with the surviving elephants transported to a sanctuary, and yet there are a number of antiquated enclosures that should have been torn down decades ago. The lion/tiger house is almost 70 years old and is basically a crumbling joke of an exhibit. Animal rights activists would definitely argue that Taitiana is better off as she is now, rather than have to pace a poorly constructed cage for the next few decades.
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  #26
Old 29-12-2007

I recon the blokes involved did something shifty. They would not even give their names.

Quote:
The Dhaliwal brothers have been hostile to police in the current death investigation and were "extremely belligerent" in an earlier encounter with police this year, authorities say.

After the zoo attack, authorities said, the brothers had refused to give their own names, identify the victim or initially give authorities an account of what occurred.

Thursday, police interviewed the two brothers, as well as Sousa's father. Authorities didn't release the details of the interviews but did say their investigation showed that the tiger first attacked the older brother.
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  #27
Old 08-01-2008

Update:

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  #28
Old 13-11-2008

The boys file a civil suit:

San Jose brothers sue over tiger attack - San Jose Mercury News
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  #29
Old 15-11-2008

It wouldn't be the US without a law suit..!
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  #30
Why the zoo cannot truly be at fault
Old 09-12-2008

It appears that almost one year after the infamous tiger attack, a visitor to the San Francisco Zoo crossed several barriers to end up in a rhino pen. Some people just dont learn....

SF Zoo visitor cited for jumping into rhino exhibit
 


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