Posted on 09/20/2003 2:14:53 PM PDT by XHogPilot
Baghdad — A U.S. soldier shot and killed an endangered tiger at the Baghdad zoo after it bit another soldier who had drunkenly reached through the bars of its cage to feed it, a security guard said Saturday.
The soldiers had been drinking beer when they entered the zoo Thursday night after it closed, said the guard, Zuhair Abdul-Majeed. After the man was bit, the other American shot the tiger three times in the head and killed it, he said.
The head of the zoo confirmed the story in an interview with Agence France-Presse.
"The soldiers arrived in the evening with food and beer, accompanied by a group of Iraqi police officers," Adel Salman Musa said. "One of the soldiers, who the Iraqi police said had drunk a lot, went into the cage against the advice of his colleagues and tried to feed the animal, who severely hurt his arm."
The tiger tore off one of the soldier's fingers and mauled his arm. Another soldier immediately fired at the animal and killed it, Mr. Salman Musa told AFP.
"The soldiers don't have the right to behave like that. That was the most precious and valuable animal in the whole zoo. It was 14 years old and had been born here," he said, adding sadly that he has no way of stopping the regular parties held at the zoo by occupation forces.
It was impossible to reach the U.S. military spokesman's office because the telephones have not worked for three days, Associated Press said.
The zoo reopened July 20, three months after Baghdad was captured by the Americans.
It had 1.5 million visitors in 2001 but hit hard times more recently. When zoo workers returned after U.S. forces occupied Baghdad, some animals lay dead in their cages. Others had escaped when mortar rounds blasted open the bars and yet others had been looted. Some wild animals roamed the park freely, including a bear that mauled and partially ate three civilians, and three lions that were shot to death when they tried to pounce on a contingent of invading American soldiers.
Since then, the surviving animals have been nursed back to health, and more animals have been brought in from a small private zoo across town and from the private zoos found in the palaces of Saddam Hussein's family.
Lots of clues that this story is probably not true...
But seriously, does anyone know what US unit controls the zoo area? If this story is true, it would appear their leadership is way off track, e.g., armed drunken parties in the zoo!
US soldier kills Baghdad tiger
Saturday, September 20, 2003 Posted: 11:49 AM EDT (1549 GMT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) -- A U.S. soldier shot dead a rare Bengal tiger at Baghdad zoo after the animal injured another soldier who was trying to feed it through the cage bars, the zoo's manager said on Saturday.
Adil Salman Mousa told Reuters a group of U.S. soldiers were having a party in the zoo on Thursday night after it had closed.
"Someone was trying to feed the tigers,'' he said. "The tiger bit his finger off and clawed his arm. So his colleague took a gun and shot the tiger.''
The night watchman said the soldiers had arrived in military vehicles but were casually dressed and were drinking beer.
A U.S. military spokesman confirmed that a member of the coalition forces shot and killed a tiger but gave no further details.
At the tiger's cage, now empty, pools of blood showed that the soldier passed through a first cage intended only for keepers and stood next to the inner cage's narrow bars.
Mousa said U.S. officials came to see him on Friday to discuss the incident.
The tiger was one of two in the zoo, once the largest in the Middle East but today a decrepit collection of dirty cages and sad-looking animals.
In April, U.S. soldiers killed four lions that had escaped from the zoo. Hundreds of other animals were stolen or let loose by looters in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of the Iraqi capital.
Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Sure they weren't at the LA Zoo?
Indeed.
No sexual assault alleged.
'Drunk' U.S. Soldier Shoots Rare Tiger in Baghdad Zoo
Posted by XHogPilot
On 09/20/2003 2:14 PM PDT with 11 comments
Globe and Mail, via Drudge Report ^ | 20 Sep 2003 | Associated PressU.S. Soldier Kills Baghdad Tiger After Attack(hold my beer alert)
Posted by dogbyte12
On 09/20/2003 7:19 AM PDT with 76 comments
Reuters ^ | 9-20-03
Hey! I and most of my buds resembled that remark....
fact of life- grunts are young kids, away from home, no female supervision...they'll act stupid.
Well, actually they won't act stupid, they will be stupid. Hopefully they won't get their fingers chewed off by a tiger.
Stay Safe SLB !
yup, sounds like a "chain of command issue"- having said that, as an ex YHOC who had a tendency to GDS...that's easier said than done.
Had we put one tenth the effort into excelling at our jobs, or studying academics that we put into getting in trouble...we would have been either Delta Gods, or Einstein's tutor.
Remember-
it may be foolproof.
it may be idiot-proof...
it may not be GI proof. *grin*
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