Posted on 01/03/2008 6:12:02 AM PST by Red in Blue PA
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Police are investigating whether several items found in the enclosure of a tiger who fatally mauled a 17-year-old man show that the animal was attacked or taunted, San Francisco Zoo spokesman Sam Singer said Wednesday.
Police are examining a large rock, a tree branch and other items, Singer said.
"They [police] are trying to make a determination that those items or any other things that happened on Christmas Day were part of some attack on the tiger or something that angered Tatiana, causing her to come out of her cage," the spokesman said.
San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong has said that a shoe print found on the railing at the tiger enclosure is being examined to determine if one of the victims climbed over the rail or threw their leg over the side.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Is it just me, or is the zoo trying to divert attention from the fact they built a tiger enclosure that a tiger could escape from?
It’s just you.
“Red Eye” on Fox News reported that the men had slingshots. Have you seen anything else about that?
I had heard similar reports of that.
No, it’s not just you. The enclosure was inadequate to contain a tiger, regardless of the action of the guests.
Jack Hanna said something to the effect that it would have been a miracle if the tiger could have escaped on its own!
I heard this morning that the slingshot report was false. A lady did say these same guys, she said there were 4 of them, were making loud growls at the lion area and had the lions all agitated.
Probably drunk and dopey thinking they were funny.
Does anyone doubt the tiger had been taunted?
I guess signs saying something on the order of “Do not feed or molest” fail to communicate to the zoo visitor the serious consequences of flouting that prohibition.
I guess those kids just didn’t see it coming.
No the enclosure height is within the guidelines. Some want it HIGHER but the height it is now is okay.
I think many freepers feel the same way, but won’t say anything for fear of being called tre-huggers or some such nonsense.
These guys were punks. Plain and simple.
I think that is certainly something they’re thinking about but if this report is true it would have a effect on any judgment those two would seek. Justifiably so.
I read that slingshots were found in their car, so they couldn’t have been slinging rocks at the tiger with those.
In Maine it is against the law to harass wildlife. One would think it would be common sense to pass a similar law for large animals in zoos.
Exactly!
This tiger has been in that enclosure for YEARS. There is nothing wrong with the enclosure with height or otherwise - it’s within the suggested guidelines. These jerks did something to anger this tiger.
Grasping at any straw to lower the amount of the check.
I was thinking that myself, though I don’t excuse taunting a caged animal.
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