Results tagged “sfzoo”

The mentally unhinged man who jumped into the grizzly grotto at the SF Zoo on September 26 has been acquitted by a jury. Accused of "trespassing and disturbing dangerous animals," Kenneth Herron, 21, crept into the into the dwelling of" two 6-year-old, 500-pound female grizzlies at closing time," reports SF Chronicle.

SF Zoo chimpanzee licks Jello off a pumpkin, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 at the San Francisco Zoo. Starting Oct. 24th and 25th, visitors can watch zookeepers give the animals Halloween-themed treats. Check it out. (AP Photo/George Nikitin, San Francisco Zoo)

Over the weekend, a man climbed into the bear enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo. Authorities still aren't sure why Kenneth Herron, 21, who is described as a "transient," made his way into the grizzly bear grotto late Sunday afternoon. It seems Herron managed to scale a wall, get himself into the enclosure, and crouch behind some bushes once inside.

Thank you to the kind tipster who warmed our hearts with this story from Kron 4/Bay City News. The San Francisco Zoo is searching for a young girl named Alexis who visited the zoo on August 10 and donated $22 to baby gorilla Hasani, which she raised selling her handmade origami to friends. The zookeeper had run to get a photo of Hasani to give to Alexis as a token of the zoo's appreciation, but when the the worker returned, Alexis had left.

The victims (instigators?) of the Christmastime tiger mauling that left their (sort of) friend, Carlos Sousa Jr., dead, Kulbir and Amritpal Dhaliwal will receive a cool $900.000 from the San Francisco Zoo. According to SF Chronicle, this settlement by the zoo "resolves claims the brothers brought in U.S. District Court against the city, zoo and Sam Singer, a crisis public relations consultant the zoo hired after the attack." The brothers' lawsuit, among other claims, says that the SF Zoo failed at "keeping the 243-pound Siberian tiger named Tatiana in an enclosure that had walls 4 feet lower that what is recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums." It also says that Kulbir Dhaliwal "wasn't attacked until after an employee refused to allow him into the safety of a zoo cafe." Which, yeah, regardless of what you think of the hoodlum brothers, that's kind of cold. Anyway, the Dhaliwal brothers will split the money, which is sure to buy all of the Grey Goose, Drakkar Noir, and criminal defense attorneys they will ever need.

We can always rely on funcheapSF! In celebration of Earth Day, the San Francisco Zoo will be having a “Party for the Planet” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow, which includes a self-guided scavenger hunt, green-themed music and puppet performances, and a sneak preview of Disneynature's Earth. Attendees bicycling to the event will receive $2 off admission, and those who drive and recycle their electronics at the event's e-waste collection site on Herbst Road from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. will receive one free admission per car.

The SF Zoo's baby gorilla, whose mother abandoned him soon after birth, has bee christen. After a baby naming contest has the entire city holding its breath in anticipation, the winning name is... Hasani. Which means "handsome" in some nonsense language. And it isn't as fetch as "Chad" or 'Darnell" would have been. And it also means hot belly dancing, with sexy results. Anyway, the winning name was chosen by Hasani's father after selecting a yellow cantaloupe early this afternoon. We're not even going to try explaining that one. It makes little sense. Go here to learn more about how, exactly, Hasani got his name.

This just in. Carlos Sousa, Jr.'s family, who sued SF Zoo over their son's 2007 Christmas Day tiger mauling death, has agreed to a settlement. According to today's release:

According to reports, "the contest runs from February 12 through March 5 and is open to children five years and older and to adults." The baby gorilla's name, however will not be picked by zoo officials; instead, "the animal's father, Oscar Jonesy, a dominant silverback gorilla, will get the final say." (The hell?) Judges will choose five names, "each attached to sticks of bamboo." The first stick Jonesy touches will be the winning name. So, you know, it chance will have a lot to do with it.

       

The American Apparel thread. Bart rage. Abortion. Amateur food critics. Everybody seems so angry lately. Gosh. Blame it on the holiday comedown. Blame it on the return of winter's chill. Blame it on misplaced, self-righteous anger now that Obama is in office. Whatever it is, SFist would like to help ease your tension, so we present to you a baby giraffe from the SF Zoo.

Still a baby, still (arguably) precious, here's a look at the San Francisco Zoo during a surrogate training session with the infant gorilla and her potential surrogate mom -- Bawang. If you recall his biological mother, Monifa, shunned the little guy since his birth.

With Tatiana's brutal attack nearing its one-year anniversary, the tiger's victim family sued the city of San Francisco and the San Francisco Zoo today for wrongful death. If you recall, the big cat escaped from her grotto last Christmas Day, attacking and killing 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. According to reports, Marilza and, Carlos' parents, claim that "the zoo and the city, as owners of Tatiana, the Siberian tiger that jumped over its enclosure and mauled Sousa and two of his friends, are liable for Sousa's death, according to their attorney Michael Cardoza." The bumbling Dhaliwal brothers, Carlos' "friends," were also injured when the Tatiana jumped out of her pit. Word is the brothers, while drunk and/or high, taunted the tiger, which prompted the attack. Allegedly.

I'm afraid we just can't get enough of the San Francisco Zoo's baby gorilla! (Tatiana who?) The little squirt is nine-days-old today. Ever since he was born last week, his mother, Monifa, has ignored the baby since his birth. But it looks like he's getting good care.

      

Good news! One, we images of baby gorilla boy, who is still unnamed, that will have you squee-ing until Monday. (Really, a little baby gorilla with a stuffed gorilla is quite impressive. The above shot alone could resurrect Dian Fossey.) Two, the baby and his surrogate mother are "adapting" to each other.

The first gorilla birth in over a decade, this little tyke plays "a contributing role to the conservation efforts taking place for this critically endangered species through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan (AZA, SSP)." Wee.

With the one-year anniversary of 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr.'s death by tiger approaching -- if you recall, it happened in Christmas day of 2007 -- the two brothers who survived the big-cat attack have filed a federal lawsuit against the city and county of San Francisco, the SFPD, the zoo, and a public relations firm hired by the SF Zoo just after the attack. The Dhaliwals claim that the "tiger enclosure was lower than recommended national standards" and that "the zoo started a smear campaign against the Dhaliwal brothers following the attacks." (KCBS)

An eight-year-old mother giraffe, one that recently gave birth in Febuary this year, died at the SF Zoo today. (Giraffes usually live anywhere from 15 and 20 years.) Gezi collapsed today a little after noontime, and succumbed to cardiac and respiratory arrest. If you recall, over four years ago two elephants died at the local zoo, and just last year a tiger named Tatiana was shot and killed after mauling a visitor. What leads us to ask: Is the is zoo deathtrap now? Should they instead make it into a theme park with zany rides? Maybe call it "The Haunted ZOOOOOOOOOOO!"?

In what must have been the six most shit-laced months of his life, Manuel Mollinedo, the executive director of the San Francisco Zoo, has resigned. Ever since Tatiana the tiger went for Carlos Sousa's jugular last Christmas, and made minor Bay Area celebrities out of the bumbling brothers Dahliwal, the San Francisco Zoo has faced "high zoo employee turnover" and "abysmal morale." Tanya McVeigh Peterson, a zoo society board lawyer will serve as interim director.

Carlos Sousa Jr.'s autopsy report has just been released to the public. According to ABC 7's Dan Noyes, the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office's report details the massive (and pretty graphic) injures Sousa suffered from Tatiana the tiger on Christmas Day 2007 at the San Francisco Zoo after a tiger escaped from her grotto.

The Intrepid Travel, some sort of online travel guide -- one that clearly has no access to the internets, TV, newspapers, phones, water coolers -- is bestowing the SF Zoo (along with 60 others) with the title of Best Zoo of 2008. Yes. Yes, they are. While the title of Most Interesting Zoo of 2008 seems appropriate, we still can't figure out if this is some sort of joke. Here's part of the remarkable press release:

Paul Dhaliwal--Christmastime tiger attack victim, and currently in the process of trying to sue the city of San Francisco over said attack--might be looking at some time in the clink. After Dhaliwal went on a shoplifting spree last month, which included the brazen act of stuffing of two Wii controllers down his pants, San Leandro cops are recommend seven felony charges be handed down to him. According to the San Leandro police spokesman Lt. Tom Overton (via the San Jose Mercury News):

Looking to get a few bucks out of the city for the Christmas Day tiger attack that claimed the life of their (alleged) friend Carlos Sousa Jr., Amritpal and Kulbir Dhaliwal have filed claims against the city. Finally. And our sources sent SFIst a copy of the claim! (We'll try to get that up for you shortly.)

Cute, yes? The San Francisco Zoo just released images of the newborn Sumatran tiger cub triplets born this past week to Leanne and George. Here are a few shots of the new kittens waiting for their first health exam.

On Thursday, Juan Zuluaga, 26, was arrested at the SF Zoo following a run-in with a rhinoceros. It seems, according to the Chron, that Zuluaga was busted for throwing acorns at Mashaki, a black rhino:

Let's not think about that mauling incident or the possibility that one or both of the Dhaliwal brothers pissed into the tiger grotto, prompting the Christmas Day attacks. No, instead let's think about the bundle of joy born at the Zoo this past weekend: a little giraffe, right. Sure, it was yesterday's news, but the adorable image was just released, and the story wouldn't have been complete without it. All together now: aw.

A 245-pound Sumatra tiger in Hawaii was found wandering the grounds of the Honolulu Zoo on Thursday morning. it seems she "wandered out of her cage" during closing hours. According to AP (via the Merc):

Glorious, isn't it?

Wow. This is a bit depressing. Scratch that, a lot.

According to today's Examiner, Tatiana will not, in fact, be honored with a gravestone complete old Sicilian widows throwing themselves onto her coffin. Instead, her "body parts will be probed and preserved while the rest, including the tiger’s coat, have already been incinerated. It’s just what happens to all zoo animals after they die."

According to police reports Paul Dhaliwal admitted to "standing atop a railing of the big cat enclosure and yelling and waving at the animal that would later maul them," killing Carlos Sousa Jr. on Christmas Day at the SF Zoo.