Tiger Escape & Attack at SF Zoo, One Dead

The 4-year-old tiger, a female named Tatiana, went on a rampage at San Francisco Zoo near closing time on Christmas Day, killing one teenager and severely injuring the two others before police shot it to death.

San Francisco Zoo Director Manuel 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.

Zoo officials said a “moat” separating the habitat from the public viewing area that measured 33 feet across contained no water, and has never had any. They did not address whether that affected the tiger’s ability to get out.

Taunting a factor?

“I think it could be feasible for a cat that has been taunted or angered,” Jack Hanna, former director of the Columbus Zoo, said Thursday. “I don’t think it would ever just do it to do it.”

Mollinedo said surveillance cameras and new fencing will be installed around the exhibit.