In ambulance, survivors of S.F. tiger attack made pact of silence

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | January 5, 2008 | Jaxon Van Derbeken

[nicmarlo]

The caretaker put her arm in the cage while the tiger was eating.

Not according to what I read:

The tiger apparently reached its paws through steel bars and grabbed the trainer's arms while she was answering questions from the public after the 2 p.m. feeding.

http://www.nbc11.com/news/10594010/detail.html

[IMissPresidentReagan]

I guess I tend to always wonder what provokes attacks like these, instead of blaming the animal. Perhaps that makes me one who values animals over humans, though I really don’t think I do, however, I’ve seen the terribly cruel actions humans are capable of doing to each other, not to mention to helpless animals, so whenever there is a story like this I usually end up defending or siding with the animal.

[Larry Lucido]

Yep.

[nicmarlo]

At least 50 visitors were in the Lion House when the 350-pound tiger, Tatiana, reached through her cage's iron bars and grabbed the keeper.

Tyler Bridges and his 4-year-old daughter were in the Lion House and had just finished chatting with the keeper when the attack occurred as they were walking away.

"She had just said, 'We feed them rabbits every Tuesday and Friday.' Fifteen seconds later, I hear her screaming," Bridges told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I see her with her back to us, facing the cage. Both of her hands were in front of her. Then somebody tried to pull her away from the tiger."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/23/national/main2294206.shtml

[nicmarlo]

This makes three stories, all saying the tiger reached out through the bars and grabbed the trainer. What information do you have to support your assertions?

Tiger Mauls Zoo Trainer
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP)

The 3-year-old female tiger, Tatiana, reached through the iron bars of her enclosure and grabbed the trainer with both front paws shortly after 2 p.m. (5 p.m. ET), zoo officials said.

At least 50 visitors were at the zoo’s big cat exhibit, called the Lion House, when the tiger attacked, said Robert Jenkins, director of animal care and conservation at the zoo. They were quickly evacuated after the incident.

The trainer has been an animal keeper at the zoo since 1997. Her main job is taking care of the zoo’s four lions and three tigers, Jenkins said.

“No matter how familiar you get with these animals, they’re still wild animals,”

http://chompetus.blogspot.com/2006/12/tiger-mauls-zoo-trainer.html

[Mr Rogers]

There you go, putting facts into a nice discussion of feelings!

Bet you vote Republican sometimes, too...

[nicmarlo]

lol, why yes, I do and have....most often, in fact.

[RGSpincich]

Time to put some waterboarding to good use on the two brothers.

And their attorney. Just because Geragos is such a jerk.

[muawiyah]

Unless there's a "source" who is willing to sign a deposition then there's no "source".

Think about this one ~ guy is injured by a tiger ~ bleeding all over the place ~ and someone checks his blood/alcohol level on the way to the hospital?

That's called putting your priorities in place eh.

Then, by the time he gets to the hospital for more professional treatment they've taken his cellphone, probably his wallet, found his keys ~ and there he is "naked to the world", laying on his back, and the zookeepers are making up stories about him.

Another young fellow is dead, probably equally field stripped, .....

Is this the way things are normally done in San Fran whenever there's an auto accident ~ steal their stuff first!

[muawiyah]

Been thinking of that case ~ this one reminds me of that one except that this time the visitors ended up as cat chow, but the "authorities" get to play the role of the elitist gang members who are especially favored of the lesbian police chief.

This city is not safe.

[Pining_4_TX]

I agree completely! It’s a shame they had to shoot the tiger. She was improving the gene pool.

[muawiyah]

The problem is the "evidence" you are claiming. It's not cooborated, nor is anyone signing statements to that effect.

You must be careful here. Virtually all the earlier cited "police said" and "zoo officials said" reports turned out to be false.

There's a lot at stake here and people tell lies to protect their stuff.

[repinwi]

"It's not clear whether Tatiana thrust her paws through the bars, which are a few inches apart, or whether the feeder's hands were close enough to the bars for Tatiana to grab them."

I'm glad you know what happened because according to several of your articles it's not clear what happened.

[muawiyah]

During the Katrina thing the tale tellers describing the rape gangs and dead bodies at the Convention Center quoted a soldier with the security team ~ turned out he was actually in Iraq at the time.

It was all a lie.

[muawiyah]

They don’t have the phone number. It’s on their cellphones. The cops have their cellphones.

[nicmarlo]

The same tiger, a 4-year-old female named Tatiana, ripped the flesh off a zookeeper’s arm just before Christmas a year ago while the woman was feeding the animal through the bars. A state investigation faulted the zoo, which installed better equipment at the Lion House, where the big cats are kept.

http://cbs5.com/national/tiger.trainer.mauled.2.278585.html

I’d still like YOU to post any story which backs up YOUR WILD ASSERTIONS.

[muawiyah]

The wall was not high enough to keep the tiger in. The Zoo is responsible for the height of the wall.

[DogandPonyShow]

The tiger cannot escape. Through human error or deliberate act, design flaw, etc.

The tiger cannot escape.

If you invite people to come look at your tiger and the tiger escapes and attacks them then you are liable.

If someone jumps into the pit with the tiger then I would say the zoo would not be liable. That is not what happened here.

The tiger cannot escape.

[muawiyah]

The zoo changed the method for feeding the tigers to eliminate the risk to the handlers.

[bikerman]

The zoo is liable

You must be a lawyer.