Police investigate deadly mauling by zoo tiger

[Vic 17]

The mother of a 17-year-old boy killed by a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo said the attack has forever ruined Christmas for her, while police are investigating whether someone helped the tiger escape. The area of the zoo in which the Siberian tiger killed Carlos Sousa has been deemed a crime scene.

</img>

 

 

</img> </img> </img> </img> </img>

 

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~...2111/index.html

[Kor37 9]

The sad thing is that it seems probable now that the victims taunted the tiger and may have inadvertantly helped it escape.

[CaptainsBeauty 0]

The sad thing is that it seems probable now that the victims taunted the tiger and may have inadvertantly helped it escape.

 

 

You're right Kor Kringle that is the saddest part of it all if it's true.

My heart goes out to the families that are involved.

[GhostofMajorHayes 10]

There are so many unanswered questions here. The facts are that one 17 yr old boy and one tiger are dead. 2 brothers are seriously injured. Now, how do zoos improve security for dangerous animals and even prevent others from antagonizing animals?

[MrPsychic 1]

Zoo's can make all sorts of security for the protection and well being of their animals, but if it's near impossible to plan for stupid people.

[Kor37 9]

I never realized that zoos were open on Christmas Day. Who goes to a zoo on Christmas?...

[GhostofMajorHayes 10]

Yeah, but stupid or not(there has been no evidence or testimony as of yet at least that this was an instance of a tiger being antagonized) the zoo is responsible for animal attacks and as such their needs to be some way to lessen these incidents or at least let people know that from now on if they happen, the zoo will take no responsibility for dangerous actions such as these. In a way, there may have to be a warning on the tickets much like McDonalds warns people on their coffee cups that the coffee is very hot :lol:

[Bethlehem 7]

This is very sad, no matter what the cause was this boy can not be brought back.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

If containment of the animals was such that a visitor (without any special equipment) could help the animal escape - then the zoo hasn't done its job in providing security. Stupidity is exactly what you plan for when extreme risk is involved because one thing is absolutely certain - stupid people exist.

 

However, as mentioned no evidence has been shown yet that anyone did any provoking or assisted in the escape - right now it seems to be a suggestion in an atempt to defer responsibility.

 

I really don't know that wild animals should be kept in zoos to begin with. I can see arguments for and against - but if you're going to do it - you need to be safe.

[Wishfire 2]

They really ought to do something about the zoo cages. Those poor animals need better protection from zoo-going gawkers.

[Kor37 9]

UPDATE:

Teen Died Trying to Save Man From Tiger

By JORDAN ROBERTSON and MARCUS WOHLSEN,AP

Posted: 2007-12-28 08:16:10

Filed Under: Nation News

SAN FRANCISCO (Dec. 28) -- The last minutes of a 17-year-old boy's life were spent trying to save his friend from a brutal tiger mauling at the San Francisco Zoo, only to have the animal turn on him, police and family members said.

 

Carlos Sousa Jr. and his friend's brother desperately tried to distract the 350-pound Siberian tiger, but the big cat instead came after Sousa.

 

"He didn't run. He tried to help his friend, and it was him who ended up getting it the worst," the teen's father, Carlos Sousa Sr., said Thursday after meeting with police.

 

The heroic portrait of Sousa and a timeline of the dramatic Christmas Day attack emerged as officials revealed that the tiger's escape from its enclosure may have been aided by walls that were well below the height recommended by the accrediting agency for the nation's zoos.

 

San Francisco Zoo Director Manuel A. Mollinedo acknowledged that the wall around the animal's pen was just 12½ feet high, after previously saying it was 18 feet. According to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the walls around a tiger exhibit should be at least 16.4 feet high.

 

Mollinedo said it was becoming increasingly clear the tiger leaped or climbed out, perhaps by grabbing onto a ledge. Investigators have ruled out the theory the tiger escaped through a door behind the exhibit.

 

"She had to have jumped," he said. "How she was able to jump that high is amazing to me."

 

Mollinedo said safety inspectors had examined the wall, built in 1940, and never raised any red flags about its size.

 

"When the AZA came out and inspected our zoo three years ago, they never noted that as a deficiency," he said. "Obviously now that something's happened, we're going to be revisiting the actual height."

 

The 4-year-old tiger, a female named Tatiana, went on a rampage near closing time Tuesday, killing Sousa and severely injuring the two others before it was shot to death by police.

 

Brothers Paul Dhaliwal, 19, and Kulbir Dhaliwal, 23, were at San Francisco General Hospital with severe bite and claw wounds. Their names were provided by hospital and law enforcement sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the family had not yet given permission to release their names.

 

Police said Kulbir Dhaliwal was the animal's first victim.

 

As the tiger clawed and bit him, Sousa and the younger brother yelled in hopes of scaring it off him, police said. The cat then went for Sousa, slashing his neck as the brothers ran to a zoo cafe for help.

 

After killing the teenager, the tiger followed a trail of blood left by Kulbir Dhaliwal about 300 yards to the cafe, where it mauled both men, police said.

 

 

Looks like the zoo is at fault.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Looks like the zoo is at fault.

 

Little consolation for the grieving parents but how nasty of the zoo to try to blame the kid in the first place. This, IMO, isn't one that should have to go to court - the zoo should own up - they also need to build higher fences.

[Kor37 9]

UPDATE:

Mauling Victim Taunted Tiger, Police Say

AP

Posted: 2008-01-18 10:42:25

Filed Under: Nation News

SAN FRANCISCO (Jan. 18) - One of the three victims of San Francisco Zoo tiger attack was intoxicated and admitted to yelling and waving at the animal while standing atop the railing of the big cat enclosure, police said in court documents filed Thursday.

 

 

Paul Dhaliwal, 19, told the father of Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, who was killed, that the three yelled and waved at the tiger but insisted they never threw anything into its pen to provoke the cat, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.

 

"As a result of this investigation, (police believe) that the tiger may have been taunted/agitated by its eventual victims," according to Inspector Valerie Matthews, who prepared the affidavit. Police believe that "this factor contributed to the tiger escaping from its enclosure and attacking its victims," she said.

 

Sousa's father, Carlos Sousa Sr., said Dhaliwal told him the three stood on a 3-foot-tall metal railing a few feet from the edge of the tiger moat. "When they got down they heard a noise in the bushes, and the tiger was jumping out of the bushes on him (Paul Dhaliwal)," the documents said.

 

Police found a partial shoe print that matched Paul Dhaliwal's on top of the railing, Matthews said in the documents.

 

The papers said Paul Dhaliwal told Sousa that no one was dangling his legs over the enclosure. Authorities believe the tiger leaped or climbed out of the enclosure, which had a wall 4 feet shorter than the recommended minimum.

 

The affidavit also cites multiple reports of a group of young men taunting animals at the zoo, the Chronicle reported.

 

Mark Geragos, an attorney for the Dhaliwal brothers, did not immediately return a call late Thursday by The Associated Press for comment. He has repeatedly said they did not taunt the tiger.

 

Calls to Sousa and Michael Cardoza, an attorney for the Sousa family, also weren't returned.

 

Toxicology results for Dhaliwal showed that his blood alcohol level was 0.16 - twice the legal limit for driving, according to the affidavit. His 24-year-old brother, Kulbir, and Sousa also had alcohol in their blood but within the legal limit, Matthews wrote.

 

All three also had marijuana in their systems, Matthews said. Kulbir Dhaliwal told police that the three had smoked pot and each had "a couple shots of vodka" before leaving San Jose for the zoo on Christmas Day, the affidavit said.

 

Police found a small amount of marijuana in Kulbir Dhaliwal's 2002 BMW, which the victims rode to the zoo, as well as a partially filled bottle of vodka, according to court documents.

 

Investigators also recovered messages and images from the cell phones, but apparently nothing incriminating in connection with the tiger attack, the Chronicle reported.

 

Zoo spokesman Sam Singer said he had not seen the documents but believed the victims did taunt the animal, even though they claim they hadn't.

 

"Those brothers painted a completely different picture to the public and the press," Singer said. "Now it's starting to come out that what they said is not true."

Looks like the zoo wasn't entirely at fault. Stupid drunk teenagers learned a valuable lesson in a tragic way...

[mj 7]

Apparently it is common for zoo visitors to taunt the animals. Taunting animals, no matter how stupid, does not merit the death sentence. And in particular, teens do many many foolish things, but we do not want them to pay with their lives.

[Kor37 9]

UPDATE:

Brothers Attacked by Tiger File Claim

By LISA LEFF,AP

Posted: 2008-03-28 21:57:57

SAN FRANCISCO (March 28) - Two brothers who were attacked by an escaped tiger at the San Francisco Zoo have filed claims against the city alleging negligence and defamation.

 

Kulbir and Amritpal "Paul" Dhaliwal are seeking monetary compensation for "serious physical and emotional injuries." The claims filed this week are a prerequisite for filing a civil lawsuit.

 

The pair were injured on Christmas Day after a 250-pound Siberian tiger scaled the walls of its enclosure, attacked them and killed their friend, 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. The animal eventually was shot dead by police.

 

The walls of the outdoor enclosure later were found to be lower than recommended by an accrediting agency for the nation's zoos.

 

The documents allege the city failed in its duty to provide a safe zoo environment, defamed the brothers by spreading falsehoods about their possible role in provoking the attack and improperly impounded Kulbir Dhaliwal's car.

 

"The Dhaliwal brothers' attorneys have made clear from the beginning that they intended to sue the city," said Matt Dorsey, a spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera.

 

The claims do not specify a dollar amount for the damages.

 

The brothers' attorney, Mark Geragos, did not return a call seeking comment.

 

Kulbir Dhaliwal suffered deep cuts and bite wounds on his body, underwent surgery to repair the damage to his knees and has scars from his injuries, the claims said. Paul Dhaliwal suffered bites and cuts that required stitches to his head and left scars, according to the claims.

 

They also allege that he was defamed by a public relations consultant that the San Francisco Zoological Society hired after the attack and made the target of "intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress."

 

San Francisco police spent more than a month investigating the maulings while weighing whether to seek criminal charges against the Dhaliwals. The lead investigator said in January the tiger "may have been taunted/agitated by its eventual victims," but the department suspended its investigation without recommending charges.

 

The city has 45 days to respond to the claims with either a formal denial or a settlement offer, Dorsey said. If a formal denial is issued, the brothers would have six months to file a lawsuit, he said.

 

Dorsey said it was too soon to say how the city would respond. Settlements usually are offered in simple cases such as minor accidents involving government vehicles and "more complex issues typically proceed to litigation," he said.

 

 

 

Ok....Who didn't know that THIS was coming?.........

Edited March 29, 2008 by Kor37