San Francisco Zoo reopens after tiger attack
The San Francisco Zoo will reopen to the public this morning at 10 a.m. The zoo has been closed for eight days since Tatiana, a Siberian tiger, escaped and attacked three visitors, killing 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. The zoo says on its website that it has remained closed since the incident out of respect to the victims.
The correspondence that was sent to members of the San Francisco Zoo after the attack can be read on the park’s website, as well as the latest news release that names plans for enhanced security and announces an invitation for the Zoological Assn. to make safety recommendations.
What do you think happened? Who is to blame?
There was a small vigil held Tuesday at Ocean Beach for Tatiana, who was shot by police after the attack. Only four people participated in the vigil.
One woman has come forward to say that she saw four men, including two of the victims, taunting lions at the big-cat grotto shortly before the attack. You can read the article, “S.F. Zoo Visitor Saw 2 victims of Tiger Attack Teasing Lions,” in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The attorney representing the two survivors says that the zoo ignored the boys’ cries for help.
Follow the link to read comments from our blog readers about how Tatiana escaped.
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel Deal Blogger
[Photo: San Francisco Zoo]
12 Comments on “San Francisco Zoo reopens after tiger attack”
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January 18th, 2008 at 10:19 am
It’s looking like the real victim was the tiger. She was failed by the zoo that did not pen her in adequately, did not have a procedure in place for dealing with abusive visitors, and did not train its people to use tranquilizer guns in stead of rifles. She did what a tiger does and now she’s dead for it.
If the young men were taunting her then I have no sympathy for them.
January 18th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I’m sorry Tatiana had to be killed.
I’m sorry our “compassionate conservative” president needs to have more American soldiers killed in the service of his winning a war
I’m sorry our government supports the arieal killing of wolves and now supports the US Navy’s use of sonar off the Calif. coast that will lead to whales being killed.
January 18th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I mourn for the death of this tiger. It is unfortunate that a someone had to die, but who’s fault was this?
These Siberian tigers are the largest in the world and an endangered species.
I am not happy that we keep these majestic animals in a zoo, but in their homeland of Russia, China and Korea encroachment on their territory by humans continues. And poachers would have certainly shot this beautiful creature. So a zoo may be the safest place for these animals, as long as humans don’t taunt them or throw rocks into their pen. Shame on these guys and shame on the witnesses for not intervening.
January 18th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
those guys were guilty of TUI.. Taunting Under the Influence…. very sad to say that it’s another case where the cause of death was stupidity…
February 3rd, 2008 at 3:18 pm
It’s amazing that other tigers in other zoos do not go around trying to attack visitors. Now something just out of the ordinary must have happened to provoke this tiger to put it in an angry state of mind. Do you think it could have been those 3 sorry (oops! now 2) intoxicated individuals? Just goes to show you that being arrogant and stupid does not pay off. My sympathy is for the tiger that paid with its life, not for human creatures that have no respect for other life forms that also inhabit this planet. Guess the parents did a real good job of raising their kids too.
February 4th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I feel so sorry for the poor tiger i do not blame her for what i would have done if i was in her place. those dumb people were taunting her and though i wish the one dude hadnt died i do hope the remaning dudes go to jail. that pen thingy was her home and teritory because people try to kill her kind where she normaly would live, and she was just doing the same thing if it was a nother tiger encroching on what was hers
February 6th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
It’s a horrible crime that a young man lost his life and a tiger had to be destroyed. Because taunting happens on a daily basis I can only hold the zoo totally responsible for what happened. Not only was the enclosure insufficient to protect the tiger from taunting or harrassment, it was insufficient to protect the patrons of the zoo. Where were the zookeepers, attendants or security guards when all this was supposedly going on?? A horrible crime. That’s how I see it.
February 6th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
they should’ve never shot the tiger. the boys who teased the tiger were drunk, and tried climbing the cage. it’s the boys’ fault that this happened, not the tigers. and people, cops or not, should never be rewarded for killing an endangered animal. it makes me sick to my stomach that they want to declare those cops as heroes.
February 13th, 2008 at 12:07 am
I feel sorry for the poor tiger Tatiana. Those creeps that taunted her and illegally climbed on the ledge over her enclosure are to blame for their friend’s and her death.
The police seemed to shoot without even thinking beforehand. They’ve done this before with people as the target.
The reason that the zoo didn’t have attendants near the tiger’s enclosure during the attack was because these three jerks were in the park after hours.
February 20th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Nice Site! Thanks!
April 20th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
What has happened with the three jerks???
April 21st, 2008 at 8:20 pm
It’s not the Tiger’s fault. Yes - taunting goes on in the zoo for lots of animals. That doesn’t hold the zoo responsible.
Who taunts a freakin TIGER anyway. Idiot. Again, a freaking huge TIGER. TIGER.