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Police Search For Clues In Deadly Tiger Attack

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By JORDAN ROBERTSON, The Associated Press

Published: December 27, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO - The big cat exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo was cordoned off as a crime scene Wednesday as investigators tried to determine whether a 300-pound Siberian tiger that killed a visitor escaped from its high-walled pen on its own or got help from someone, inadvertent or otherwise.

Police shot the animal to death after a Christmas Day rampage that began when the tiger escaped from an enclosure surrounded by what zoo officials said are an 18-foot wall and a 20-foot moat. Two brothers who were visiting the zoo were severely mauled.

Authorities think Tatiana, the Siberian tiger, initially attacked all three victims, killing Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, of San Jose. The cat followed blood trails to a cafe, where it cornered the other brothers, ages 19 and 23, also of San Jose.

When police arrived, they found Sousa, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officers began a search and found the 23-year-old victim lying on the ground with cuts on his face. He was cornered by the tiger. As the officers approached, the tiger jumped back on top of the man and resumed its attack.

The animal then became distracted by the four officers, who were yelling, and advanced toward them. All four fired their .40-caliber handguns, hitting the tiger.
San Francisco Police Sgt. Neville Gittens said the officers did not want to shoot the animal while it was sitting next to the victim.

"I can only imagine the patrons walking around, and suddenly seeing this tiger," he said. "It was probably surreal."

The officers then found the third victim, the 19-year-old man, near his brother.

The brothers were in stable condition after surgeries at San Francisco General Hospital. They suffered deep bites and claw wounds on their heads, necks, arms and hands, said Rochelle Dicker, a surgeon. She said they were expected to recover fully.
John Sousa said he learned of his nephew's death this morning.

"This is very rough, very hard on us. This will be investigated, it's going to take some time," he said.

Criminal Investigation Started
Zoo officials are not sure how the animal got out.

Police Chief Heather Fong said the department has opened a criminal investigation to "determine if there was human involvement in the tiger getting out or if the tiger was able to get out on its own."

Police said they have not ruled anything out, including whether the escape was the result of carelessness or a deliberate act.

Fong said officers were gathering evidence from the tiger's enclosure as well as accounts from witnesses and others.

One zoo official insisted the tiger did not get out through an open door and must have climbed or leaped out.

Tiger Experts Divided

But Jack Hanna, former director of the Columbus Zoo and a frequent guest on TV, said such a leap would be an unbelievable feat, "virtually impossible."

"There's something going on here. It just doesn't feel right to me," he said. "It just doesn't add up to me."

Instead, he speculated that visitors might have taunted the animal and perhaps even helped it get out by, say, putting a board in the moat.

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."

Ron Magill, a spokesman at the Miami Metro Zoo, said it is unlikely a zoo tiger could make such a leap, even with a running start.

"Captive tigers aren't nearly in the kind of shape that wild tigers have to be in to survive," he said.

He said taunting can definitely make an animal more aggressive, but "whether it makes it more likely to get out of an exhibit is purely speculative."

The police chief would not comment on whether the animal was taunted.

The same tiger, a 4-year-old female, 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."

He said the zoo has a response team that is armed with tranquilizers and firearms, but that the scene unfolded "so quickly that the officers found Tatiana first."

The zoo's director of animal care and conservation, Robert Jenkins, said the tiger did not leave through an open door. "The animal appears to have climbed or otherwise leaped out of the enclosure," he said. But the zoo's director admitted, "We're still not too clear as to exactly what transpired."

Hanna predicted other U.S. zoos would reassess their tiger enclosures if it turns out the tiger was able to leap out. He said he never before heard of a zoo visitor being killed by an animal.

"It's much safer going to a zoo than getting in your car and going down the driveway," he said.

Zoo To Reopen Today

The zoo was closed on Wednesday. Officials said they expected to reopen today, but the big cat exhibit will remain closed "until we get a better understanding of what actually happened," Mollinedo said. He said colleagues from other U.S. zoos will be brought in to help re-evaluate the big cat exhibit.

After last year's attack, the state fined the zoo $18,000. The zoo added customized steel mesh over the bars, built in a feeding chute and increased the distance between the public and the cats.

Tatiana arrived at the zoo from the Denver Zoo a few years ago, with officials hoping she would mate with a male tiger. Siberian tigers are classified as endangered and there are more than 600 living in captivity worldwide.

U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman Jim Rogers said his agency is looking into the attack for violations of federal animal-welfare laws.

The San Francisco Zoo is as an accredited member in good standing of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

"Animal escapes at accredited zoos are so very rare and each one is different," association spokesman Steve Feldman said. "But we are always looking for ways to improve safety for our visitors."

Information from the San Francisco Chronicle was used in this report.

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