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A tiger mauled two visitors and killed another at the San Francisco Zoo today. Tatiana -- the same Siberian who mauled its own trainer last year, ripping the flesh from her arm in front of spectators -- escaped from her pen at around 5 p.m. Then, the feline "went on to fatally maul a visitor at the Terrace Cafe, an outdoor restaurant in the zoo located near the tiger pen."
SFPD arrived at the zoo to find the critically endangered cat on top of one of her victims. According to CBS 5, "the tiger then started moving toward [the] group of approaching police officers, and they opened fire with handguns," killing Tatiana. As of now, it's not known just how the tiger managed to escape, well, captivity.
The zoo was evacuated after the attack was reported and will remain closed tomorrow (12/26) out of respect for the victims,"described by authorities as men in their 20s."
Read more about today's tragic man vs. animal encounter here. Mayor Newsom's statement after the jump.
The Mayor is deeply saddened to hear the news about the victims of the incident at the San Francisco Zoo this evening.The police responded immediately to the scene during the incident and have killed the tiger that caused the fatality.
This tiger was the only animal that escaped its enclosure.
The Police Department has secured the scene with the aid of the Fire Department and the Department of Animal Care and Control.
A thorough investigation is being undertaken to uncover all the facts and to understand how this tragedy could have occurred.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families.
The Zoo will be closed tomorrow, December 26.
Tatiana's image from AP Photo.
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The tiger went tiger!
Given San Francisco's general mismanagement (Muni, the PUC, etc, etc) maybe it isn't such a good idea for the city to be in the business of handling dangerous animals. I'm just saying...
Wow!
Wow...talk about an unexpected and horrible way to die.
That's truly horrible.
Christmas was bollocks, wasn't it
This is why teenagers should never taunt the animals in enclosures.
I wish the estimable Mayor Newsom would take the opportunity to ask "Why do we keep wild animals in a city?"
same could be said for you leaf and bikerider.
;)
This comment is not specific to just this story, but why is it that press releases about tragic events always end exactly the same way?
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's families"
Of course we all know they're lying, and that they just want to get back to work on what they were doing.
For once could it be something like, "This was a horrible event that was hard to talk about"
???
BTW, does some rich lady in SF get a new tiger stole?
What happens to the fur?
Yikes!!
Thank goodness my kids & husband didn't stay until closing like they usually do.
Guess that explains the helicopter hovering over the neighborhood all night, but what are they looking for this morning? The noise is driving me nuts...
This is something right of a Roald Dahl story...a family goes to the zoo for Christmas and a tiger escapes and eats the father. When I read the headline on the Gate last night, I thought the Glade holiday scented candles had finally got to me! Did that say "Tiger eats zoo patron!?" Crazy and tragic!
BRILLIANT IDEA (if I do say so myself): The zoo needs to be turned into the new 49ers stadium! They can have a petting zoo in some tucked-away corner with elderly, toothless goats.
The zoo is closed today so they can see if there are any more victims.
Is it wrong for me to find that awesome?
Cue Newsom with a mixed-income tiger enclosure.
"A thorough investigation is being undertaken to uncover all the facts and to understand how this tragedy could have occurred."
Let's see.... DON'T LOCK UP WILD ANIMALS IN CAGES AND MAKE A SPECTACLE OF THEM.
Well, three teenagers...hmmm.
Could it possibly be that they taunted the tiger and got what they were asking for?
After all, hundreds (or thousands maybe?) of zoo animals die every year because people feed them everything from junk food to plastic bags or even outright kill or mutilate them - you can watch harassment & vandalizing and other forms of stupid, careless behavior in any zoo on a daily basis.
Like I said, possibly! If they are faultless, then that's just sad.