Tiger kills one, injures two at SF Zoo
A tiger escaped from its pen at the San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day, killing one man and injuring two others.
The three men were all in their 20s, and were visiting the zoo, San Francisco Police spokesman Steve Mannina said. They were attacked just after 5 p.m., when ticket counters are shut down, on the east end of the 125-acre zoo grounds near Ocean Beach.
They suffered "pretty aggressive bite marks," Mannina said.
It was unclear how the tiger escaped or how long it was loose. The Siberian tiger, named Tatiana, was the same big cat that attacked a zookeeper last December during a regular public feeding, according to Robert Jenkins, the zoo's director of animal care and conservation.
The approximately 300-pound female did not leave through an open door, Jenkins said. But he could not explain how it escaped -- the tiger's enclosure is surrounded by a 15-foot-wide moat, and 20-foot-high walls.
"There was no way out through the door," said Jenkins. "The animal appears to have climbed or otherwise leapt out of the enclosure."
Investigators working to understand what happened have sketched a chilling picture.
The first attack happened right outside the Siberian's enclosure -- the victim died at the scene. A group of four responding officers came across his body when they made their way into the dark zoo grounds, said Mannina.
Then they saw the second victim. He was about 300 yards 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, Mannina said.
The officers started approaching the animal, bearing their handguns. Tatiana started moving in their direction. Several of the officers then fired, killing the animal.
Only then did they see the third victim, who had also been mauled.
The zoo is open 365 days a year. Although no new visitors were let in after 5:00 p.m., the grounds were not scheduled to close until an hour later, and there were between 20 and 25 people still on site when the attacks happened, zoo officials said.
The two who were injured were in critical but stable condition at San Francisco General Hospital.
The victims "are in the operating rooms, getting their wounds cleaned," a nurse at the hospital said.
Eric Isaacs, a doctor at San Francisco General, told KGO-TV that the tiger bites were being treated as any animal bite would be -- the wounds were being cleaned, and the men were put on antibiotics. They'd be observed for infection over the next week.
"This is a tragic event for San Francisco," San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Lt. Ken Smith said. "We pride ourselves in our zoo, and we pride ourselves in tourists coming and looking at our city."
Employees and visitors were told to take shelter in zoo buildings when zoo officials became aware of the attacks.
Authorities did not believe others were mauled, but because it was dark they could not be certain. After the attack, firefighters used ladders and flashlights to search through the zoo's vegetation.
Investigators remained on the scene and Smith said a thorough sweep of the grounds would be conducted Wednesday morning.
There are five tigers at the zoo -- three Sumatrans, and two Siberians. Officials initially worried that four tigers had escaped, but soon learned only one had escaped its pen, according to Mannina.
San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that he was deeply saddened by the incident and said a thorough investigation is underway.
Last December, Tatiana reached through the cage's iron bars and badly lacerated the zookeeper's arm. The zoo's Lion House was temporarily closed during an investigation.
Following last year's attack, the zoo added customized steel mesh over the bars, built in a feeding shoot and increased the distance between the public and the cats.
The Zoo will be closed on Wednesday, officials said.
