#Caturday calls for bath time for JT🐅💦 #SiberianTiger #SavingSpecies pic.twitter.com/5F2Tg5kmg6

— San Francisco Zoo (@sfzoo) December 17, 2016

December 25th this year will mark nine years since the infamous 2007 tiger mauling incident at the San Francisco Zoo that took the life of 17-year-old Carlos Eduardo Sousa Jr. That attack, involving a four-year-old Siberian tiger named Tatiana, made national news and prompted the zoo to close and retrofit its tiger exhibit with more secure safety shields, even though the zoo had maintained that the original enclosure, surrounded by a moat, was itself very secure.

Calling attention to the zoo's newer Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, the zoo posted the above video of JT the tiger taking a dip and a drink in his enclosure. As the zoo explains, their male and female Amur tigers, being mostly solitary creatures, are kept in separate enclosures. There are only approximately 500 Amur tigers in the world after being brought to the brink of extinction in the last century.

Tatiana was shot and killed by police following the discovery of Sousa's body and after she fully escaped her enclosure to chase brothers Kulbir and Amritpal "Paul" Dhaliwal, who admitted to standing atop a fence and taunting the tiger. It would be four years later, in 2011, that allegations about the three young men's roles in the incident were confirmed in a government report, but this was after the zoo had settled lawsuits with both the Dhaliwals and Sousa's family.

The Dhaliwals would continue to make headlines, however, as ne'er-do-wells incapable of staying out of trouble in the subsequent years. It was contended and proven in a blood alcohol test that Paul Dhaliwal was quite drunk on Grey Goose vodka at the time of the tiger attack, and he would later be nabbed for shoplifting and arrested on multiple charges, ultimately dying under unexplained circumstances at the age of 24 in 2012. Kulbir Dhaliwal remains alive but was himself arrested for cocaine possession, and then in 2009 for misdemeanor drunk driving.

If you go to the zoo this Christmas season, you'll find the tigers, both the Siberian and Sumatran subspecies, behind high glass fences.

Previously: SF Zoo Gets Three Reindeer Visiting For The Holidays

The Examiner reported on Thursday night that they obtained a never-before-released police interview with the Brothers Kulbir and Amritpal “Paul” Dhaliwal regarding the 2007 Siberian tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo, which resulted in the death of 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr.. This exclusive report, released just in time for the third anniversary of the incident, promised a "tasty treat" in its headline, which turned out to be the fact that the three victims were eating nachos at some point before Tatiana the tiger escaped her enclosure and attacked them.

This revelation hardly has much relevance, as the article states: "The taped interviews, however, still do not reveal what happened that day, when police had to shoot the tiger to death after the attack." Inspector Valerie Matthews, who headed the investigation, questioned the brothers about whether they threw any nachos at Tatiana, but the two denied doing anything to taunt the tiger, whom Paul Dhaliwal referred to in his progressive lingo as a "fool."

In essence, an Examiner commenter (according to an SFist commenter) had the same scoop three years ago.

Triggering Tatiana flashbacks today, we just got word that a white tiger fatally mauled a zoo keeper in a New Zealand yesterday, "just three months after the victim had saved another keeper from an attack by the same tiger." Happening at the Zion Wildlife Center in Whangarei, somewhere in Middle Earth, tiger handler Dalu Mncube succumbed to severe tearing of the abdomen. According to Times Online, "the male tiger attacked Mr Mncube with no warning, ripping at the helpless man's body as his colleague tried to fight him off with a stick and a fire extinguisher." San Francisco Zoo, if you recall, payed host to a fatal tiger attack on Christmas Day 2007 when Tatiana the tiger leaped from her grotto, attacking and killing Carlos Sousa Jr. Unlike Tatiana, however, who was shot and killed by SFPD officers, the white tiger wasn't put down. Update: We were wrong. The white tiger, one of only 120 white tigers in the world, was killed soon after the mauling.

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.

What better reason than dipping attendance to add in roller coasters to boost visitor numbers! Worked for another animal sanctuary in the Bay Area. There's nothing like the screams of children and the whoosh of rides to put the animals at ease. Race you to the tiger cages!

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:

(Branford, CT) The San Francisco Zoo is one of sixty to be honored as one of "America's Best Zoos 2008" by The Intrepid Traveler, a travel publisher located in Branford, CT.

The zoo was cited for its diverse animal collection, special programs for visitors, knowledgeable and committed staff, and excellent exhibits. Among the must-sees: African Savanna, which lets visitors view animals from within the middle of the habitat after entering through a tunnel and emerging on a bridge inside a wraparound African panorama, and Primate Discovery Center, where animal lovers can view some of the rarest and most endangered monkeys in the world.

Looking to get a few well-earned 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.)

In addition to rightfully accusing San Francisco for for Tatiana's fatal mauling spree last December,which also sent the brothers to the hospital for several days, Geragos' firm also claims that the brothers "have been defamed by a public relations firm, acting as an agent of the city and county of San Francisco and the San Francisco Zoo. Members of the public relations firm, including but not limited to Sam Singer, made false statement's about Claimant's on the date of the attack."

Oh, and one of the brother is also whining that he was "wrongfully deprived" of his 2002 BMW M3, which was impounded. The poor dear.

In related news: OH MY GOD, Amritpal Dhaliwal, 19, was arrested last night at the Bayfair Center trying to shoplift a pair of Nintendo Wii controllers from Target. (His scars are still visible on his forehead, according to police. Aw.) Hope this doesn't hurt their credibility, or lack thereof, when their claim turns into a lawsuit and heads to court.

Join us after the jump for details, lots of interesting details, about the re-opening.

Glorious, isn't it?

Raising the walls of the grotto 16.4 feet, in order to meet the minimum guidelines of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the first phase of improving the SF Zoo's four big-cat grottos is complete. The tweaks were needed, as most of you know by now, after Siberian tiger Tatiana escaped and killed Carlos Sousa Jr. during the now infamous Christmas Day tiger attacks.

The second phase of the project, according to the Gate, is "scheduled for completion sometime in March, [which] includes replacing temporary fencing materials with stainless steel wire mesh and installing hot wire along the finger walls of the grottos." As of now, zoo officials aren't sure just when the tiger exhibit will reopen.