Escaped tiger kills man at San Francisco zoo
December 27, 2007
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An escaped tiger killed a visitor at San Francisco Zoo and mauled two other men today, a year after the same animal attacked a park employee.
The Siberian tiger fatally attacked the unidentified man just after the zoo’s 5pm closing time.
The tiger, a 136kg female called Tatiana, was shot and killed by police while it was on top of another victim, said zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca.
She did not have details about the victims but reports said the dead man, aged 23, was attacked near an outdoor tiger enclosure.
A group of four responding officers came across his body when they made their way into the dark zoo grounds, said police department spokesman Steve Mannina.
Then they saw another victim about 300m away, in front of the Terrace Cafe.
The man was sitting on the ground, blood running from gashes in his head. Tatiana sat next to him. Suddenly, the cat attacked the man again, Mr Mannina said.
The officers started approaching the animal, bearing their handguns. When Tatiana started moving in their direction, several of the officers fired, killing the animal.
The two injured men were in “stable but critical condition” at San Francisco General Hospital, said Lieutenant Ken Smith, a spokesman with the San Francisco Fire Dept.
Local news radio KCBS said they suffered cuts and slashes all over their bodies.
Ms LaMarca could not say how the nine-year-old tiger escaped but police were investigating.
The 40ha park was evacuated after the attack, but attendance was low at the time because of the Christmas holiday and early darkness, Ms LaMarca said.
The incident follows a December 22, 2006, attack when Tatiana ripped the flesh off a zookeeper’s arm during feeding time as horrified visitors looked on.
The public feeding house was immediately closed, and only reopened in September after a $US250,000 safety upgrade.
The zoo has four tigers but only Tatiana left the cage.
San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom said he was deeply saddened by the incident and said a thorough investigation had begun.
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