Tiger escapes at San Francisco Zoo, killing and wounding visitors

[mustang-sally 8]

James Bone, of The Times, in New York

Tatiana the tigress, a popular attraction at San Francisco zoo, has been shot dead by police after going on the attack for the second Christmas in a row.

In a bloody rampage, the rare Siberian tiger mauled one man to death and severely gored two others at the zoo's open-air cafe when she escaped from her moated enclosure on Christmas Day.

The attack came almost exactly a year after the 300lb beast savaged a keeper's arm through the bars during a public feeding session three days before Christmas 2006.

Alerted by frantic emergency calls, shotgun-toting police cordoned off the zoo shortly before closing time yesterday and scoured the densely populated area around it with helicopters in case other tigers had escaped from their pen.

Tatiana was discovered by a squad of four officers as she tried to make a Christmas meal of a second bloodied victim.

"When the officers first approached this other victim in front of the cafe, the tiger was sitting right next to the victim. As the officers approached, the tiger continued its attack," Sergeant Steve Mannina, a police spokesman, said.

"As the officers moved even closer, the tiger focused its attention on the officers and starting coming towards the officers. That is when the officers fired."

Siberian tigers are an endangered species with fewer than 400 surviving in the wild on a diet of elk, deer and wild boar in the remote forests of Russia's Sikhote-Alin mountain range, east of the Amur river. Another 600 are kept in captivity.

Four-year-old Tatiana was moved to San Francisco zoo from Denver in the hope that she would mate with a male called Tony.

The tigress lives with Tony and three Sumatran tigers in outdoor enclosures near the Lion House, kept away from the public by a 15-wide moat.

New safety features were added to the compound after Tatiana chewed the flesh off a zoo-keeper's arm last year.

Lori Komejan, the keeper, was mauled as she reached through a drain to retrieve an object from inside Tatiana's cage in front of horrified spectators during a public feeding.

Pinned to the cage bars, Ms Komejan only escaped when a colleague grabbed a mop and hit the tiger in the head until it let go.

A state investigation found that the tiger cages were configured in a way that made it possible for Tatiana to reach under the bars to bite the keeper.

The zoo made $250,000 of improvements, including adding steel mesh to the bars and increasing the distance between the big cats and the public, before resuming public feedings at the Lion House in September.

Officials were at a lost to explain how Tatiana escaped around 5:15 pm local time on Christmas Day, as about two dozens visitors wandered through the 1000-acre zoo.

Robert Jenkins, the zoo's director of animal care, said he was "astounded" by Tatiana's escape. "There was no way out through the door," he said. "The animal appears to have climbed or otherwise leaped out of the enclosure."

The dead man, in his 20s, was found just outside Tatiana's enclosure. The two other victims, aged 19 and 23, were attacked by the zoo's Terrace Cafe 300 yards away.

Both survivors were rushed to San Francisco General Hospital for surgery on their wounds. Local reports said one had suffered puncture wounds to the chest as well as lacerations in the back of his head and claw marks on his legs. The other had cuts on his head and back.

"They are talking. They are alert. Their vital signs are stable at this time," Eric Isaacs, the supervising doctor, said. "The wounds are being repaired, sewn back together, and we expect them to be fine."

The zoo stayed shut today as officials scoured the scene for clues. Police refused to rule out the possibility of criminal conduct.

"We don't know how it was able to get out," Mr Jenkins told reporters. "The tiger should not have been able to jump (out). This is the first thing we will be investigating."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle3096304.ece

[almaty 19]

#######?

[Nagishkaw 510]

Tiger woulds.

[Peikko 1,575]

Apparantly, if you live in Texas you can own tigers and all kinds of exotic and some would say dangerous animals. Hence the need for such lax gun laws probably.

[mawilson 2,133]

Tatiana the tigress and Kazan' Tiger?

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Poor Tatiana.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Grrrrrrrrr!

Tatiana the tigress and Kazan' Tiger?

[mawilson 2,133]

Grrrrrrrrr!

Tatiana the tigress and Kazan' Tiger?

[sunandmoon 450]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071226/ts_nm/usa_tiger_dc

[Kang Lang 7]

we live in san francisco and watched this tragedy unfold. sadly one of the victims died, it's an incredible shame that the "big cat" exhibit has only been reopened for 3 months after last december when the very same Tatiana mauled a trainer. The zoo was only fined $18k for not being properly equipped/trained for response to big cat attack. fortunately the other 2 victims are expected to recover but the injuries are extensive...supposedly mostly head and neck bites.

[Amby 490]

#######? 2 times!

[♥JP♥ 5]

I visited the zoo a couple of months ago and it just doesn't seem logical that the tiger leaped out. I think there was some foul play.

[~Chad~ 0]

That's sad.... poor tiger

[Ban Hammer 14,567]

uh oh, the cat had a taste of liberalism.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

That's sad.... poor tiger

poor human