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2011 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Tiger Mauls Three Youths At SF Zoo

2011 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

San Francisco police are investigating the possibility that one of the victims in the fatal tiger mauling on Christmas Day climbed over a waist-high fence and then dangled a leg or other body part over the edge of a moat that kept the big cat away from the public, sources close to the investigation said Wednesday.

The minimal evidence found at the scene included a shoe and blood in an area between the gate and the edge of the 25- to 30-foot-wide moat, 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 all present just outside the tiger's grotto 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.

The injured victims fled, leaving a trail of blood, which police believe the tiger followed for 300 yards up a zoo pathway. As the tiger cornered and attacked one of the brothers, four police officers arrived, distracted the animal and shot it dead.

What followed were hours of confusion as police attempted to find other tigers that zookeepers believed might have escaped.

When police arrived at the zoo, 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.

And though they found and killed the escaped tiger within minutes of their arrival, they had been told three other tigers might be on the loose.

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, while there were still many visitors walking around the zoo. No doors to the grotto had been left ajar, they said. The animal is the same one that attacked a zookeeper almost exactly a year ago.

Police sources said a footprint had been found on a metal fence, suggesting that someone had climbed the fence to get closer to the big cats. Authorities were looking into whether the tiger escaped by latching on to a leg or body part.

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."

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 could 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.

The hunt for the escaped tiger Tuesday was 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 guards which 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.

Read more:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/26/MNEJU4SVN.DTL#ixzz1VQXw0qrC

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/27/MNEJU4SVN.DTL

Submitted on 08/18/2011

Submitted by: Brandon Forest
Reference: San Francisco Chronicle Thursday, December 27, 2007

Copyright © 2011 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

James said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
We have this one in our archives from when it first occurred. Please be sure to use our search function to make sure we don't already have a story, especially if it's more than a few days old!


Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
As James said. Thanks just the same.


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