Tiger escape
Whoa! Not sure how I missed this story, but I just read (in two places on my friends list so far) that there was a tiger escape at the San Francisco zoo, resulting in one human death and one tiger death:
I feel very bad for the victims and their loved ones, and for everyone at the zoo. Looking at this article, a few things come to mind immediately. The man who was killed was one of a group of three young men (18-23). Sorry to say, a scenario where these men were harassing the tiger immediately comes to mind. It's not fair for me to speculate that, but that's what I picture, involuntarily. The tiger escaped by leaping across a moat and climbing a fence. Again, what motivated this behavior? There are animals in moated, fenced enclosures all around the world, because those kinds of enclosures generally work. Despite popular mythology, animals aren't constantly seeking their freedom. Most, given the choice, prefer the security of their territories (cages).
I also see that the media attempted to get the keepers to talk about the incident, and all of them kept quiet. That's official protocol, and they did good.
The police shot the tiger dead, and well they should have. One lj comm I belong to is full of noise of those who think the tiger should have been tranquilized. Dart guns are simply not used when an animal as dangerous as a tiger has escaped. There are too many variables, and while you are calculating the dosage, loading the gun, and aiming at the right spot on the animal, it could be killing more people. Once you have successfully darted an animal, then you have to wait for it to go down--it's not instantaneous. The animal gets drunk and wobbles around, and is more dangerous than before it was darted. As much as I love animals, and regret the loss of something as rare as a tiger, they did the right thing by shooting this tiger.
A lousy situation all around, and I hope the other two men (in critical condition) pull through okay.
I used to volunteer at the San Francisco Zoo, and everyone I met was kind and professional. I hope they get through this okay, too.
I feel very bad for the victims and their loved ones, and for everyone at the zoo. Looking at this article, a few things come to mind immediately. The man who was killed was one of a group of three young men (18-23). Sorry to say, a scenario where these men were harassing the tiger immediately comes to mind. It's not fair for me to speculate that, but that's what I picture, involuntarily. The tiger escaped by leaping across a moat and climbing a fence. Again, what motivated this behavior? There are animals in moated, fenced enclosures all around the world, because those kinds of enclosures generally work. Despite popular mythology, animals aren't constantly seeking their freedom. Most, given the choice, prefer the security of their territories (cages).
I also see that the media attempted to get the keepers to talk about the incident, and all of them kept quiet. That's official protocol, and they did good.
The police shot the tiger dead, and well they should have. One lj comm I belong to is full of noise of those who think the tiger should have been tranquilized. Dart guns are simply not used when an animal as dangerous as a tiger has escaped. There are too many variables, and while you are calculating the dosage, loading the gun, and aiming at the right spot on the animal, it could be killing more people. Once you have successfully darted an animal, then you have to wait for it to go down--it's not instantaneous. The animal gets drunk and wobbles around, and is more dangerous than before it was darted. As much as I love animals, and regret the loss of something as rare as a tiger, they did the right thing by shooting this tiger.
A lousy situation all around, and I hope the other two men (in critical condition) pull through okay.
I used to volunteer at the San Francisco Zoo, and everyone I met was kind and professional. I hope they get through this okay, too.