(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-27 15:37

 

Schoolchildren look at a Siberian tiger at the San Francisco Zoo, May 2007. A Siberian tiger has killed one visitor at the San Francisco Zoo and critically injured two others after escaping from its enclosure, prompting authorities to shoot the animal dead. [Agencies]

Sy Montgomery, a naturalist and author whose books include "Spell of the Tiger," said she thinks such a jump is possible. Not every tiger could do it, she said, "but like human beings, every creature has its own amazing athletes."

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.

Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo said Wednesday that he gave no thought to destroying Tatiana after the 2006 incident, because "the tiger was acting as a normal tiger does." As for whether Tatiana showed any warning signs before Tuesday's attack, Mollinedo said: "She seemed to be very well-adjusted into that exhibit."

It was unclear how long the tiger had been loose before it was killed. The three visitors were attacked around closing time Tuesday on the 125-acre zoo grounds. Four officers hunted down and shot the animal after police got a 911 call from a zoo employee.

The zoo has a response team that can shoot animals. But zoo officials and police described the initial moments after the escape as chaotic.

The two injured men, 19- and 23-year-old brothers from San Jose, were upgraded to stable condition at San Francisco General Hospital after surgery. They suffered deep bites and claw wounds on their heads, necks, arms and hands, said Dr. Rochelle Dicker, a surgeon. She said they were expected to recover fully.

The dead visitor was identified as 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. of San Jose.

Sousa's parents, Carlos and Marilza Sousa, choked back tears as they described their shock over their son's death.

"I wish I was sleeping and this was just a bad dream, but it's not," Marilza Sousa told The Associated Press at her San Jose home.

They said they learned of their son's death from the coroner's office, and neither police nor zoo officials had contacted them.

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