Who is to blame for the Tiger attack at the S.F. Zoo?

Question

Who is to blame for the death of the teenager? Is it the zoo? The parents seem to want to blame the zoo for eveything. Funny thing is: The father said he had no idea that his son was at the zoo! So since when is the zoo supposed to be somebody's mommy and daddy? Everyone knows the risk! The Tiger is a perfect killing machine! Siberian Tigers in Russia have been known to kill and eat fully grown grizzly bears! They say that Tiger cannot jump that high, and I say it can! This breed of Tiger grows to be very large. Up to 13 ft. including the tail. An 18 or even 20 ft. wall is not gonna stop a Siberian Tiger if it wants out bad enough. I don't know what you have to do these days to be a so called "expert". Buy a book at K-Mart or Wal-Mart? I think there is alot of blame to go around. The father is to be blamed for his neglect, and the Zoo should be blamed for using a rediculous way to try to keep the Tiger at bay. That wall should have been made alot higher!

Nobody wants responsibilty for this awfull thing that has happened. But All parents should have at least some idea of where their children are!!! Do you simply let them do as they please and wonder the streets?

He was a 17 YEAR OLD CHILD!!!! Watch and learn. Or if you don't know what that means, get an education.

Okay, If they tried to taunt the tiger by putting their leg over the fence, is that the zoo's fault? What I was saying was; you know the risk! You know you shouldn't do something like what they obviously did! Such as taunt the animal! I think you need an education.

IMy question was plain and simple.

Ok, I appologize, I'm overreacting! But I just don't want the entire country to take it out on the animal. The Tiger did not know any better. It is not like us! It was probably abused or has had a bad experience with humans in the past at some point.

Yeah I do still think its the father's fault. Because he should always know where his children are. If he doesn't thats on him. Its not the zoo's job to go around making sure that children aren't gonna try to get into the pin with a tiger. Thats why children should be with an adult. Did you let your children go to the zoo by themselves? I didn't think so.....

I am angry at the foolishness. The Tiger is often underestimated, but this is rediculous! This animal has killed anything from 29 ft. reticulted pythons, to grizzly bears and even elephants! peopl should know that it is not something to fool around with. whether it be taunting the animal, or saying "a tiger cannot do that!" the zoo underestimated the power of a siberian tiger. This is the largest most powerful cat on planet earth! Its not your average house cat!

Answer 1

Amazing that the zoo planted the rumor that the victim taunted the tiger. The police apparently tried to bully the two injured guys into saying that they had, when they wouldn't say what was wanted they became "uncooperative".

Today the S.F. Chief of Police said there was no evidence of taunting. No shoe. There was a footprint on the railing that didn't match the shoes of any of the victims.

12.5 feet is obviously not a high enough wall to contain a healthy tiger with a history of attacking people.

Lacking blue eyes and blond hair does not make a victim a person who disobeys the rules.

The system automatically went into disclaimer mode. Happens with every organization, business etc. and the media broadcasts it like it was true.

Same thing happened with a security guard who had his life ruined by media and incompetent officials in Atlanta, remember? He died recently a young man destroyed by the mediocracy.

Answer 2

The zoo is partly to blame. You can't just monitor the animals, you have to monitor the employees and public as well. It doesn't matter if the boys were teasing the animal, the fact is, the animal was still able to get out, and thats unacceptable. Also, there needs to be better security. If in fact the boys were teasing the tigers, the employees should have known immediatly. The employees at first didn't even know there was a tiger loose, and after they discovered there was they didn't know how many. They need to have a better system to monitor their animals or there are going to be more "accidents" in the future. Not only at San Francisco Zoo, but around the world.

Answer 3

The trouble with teens is that they frequently are out and about and the parents don't know where they are. The kid was at the zoo, though, for Pete's sake. He wasn't doing drugs on the drug side of town... he wasn't at a bar with a bunch of hoodlums. He was eating at a cafe at the zoo.

Tigers may, indeed, be dangerous animals and perfect killing machines, but zoos are considered to be places where Moms can take their brood of young, helpless children to spend the day.

The zoo is COMPLETELY, 100 % at fault, here. They have a responsibility to the public to keep the public 100% safe from the dangerous animals they house there. If there is any, ANY shred of a chance that an animal could get loose and kill someone, then it is the zoo's responsibility to put a BIG, OBVIOUS sign that warns of this "risk," so that people do not feel deceptively safe.

Tatiana the tiger, indeed did what tigers do. That is why she should have been secured better.... especially with her history.

Again, that a tiger got loose, a tiger with a history of attacking humans, is 100% the fault of the zoo. It was sad that the tiger had to die. And that sadness, also, is the zoo's fault.

But, it's like the leash laws we have for our dogs. Dogs like to roam, and when they are afraid they might bite. Dog owners, therefore, for the safety of their dogs, must keep them fenced or on a leash when out in public. When dog owners are irresponsible and let their dogs roam the neighborhood... then when the dog is hit by a car, it is the dog owner's fault. Or when the dog attacks a child and then must be put to death, again, it is the dog owner's fault. People who cannot secure their dogs, should not have dogs. The same goes for zoos who cannot secure their dangerous animals.

**EDIT**
Daytime, and 17 year old is at the zoo. No, dear, the father does not need to know this. What if the father HAD known the son was at the zoo??? A human got killed by a tiger at the zoo. Whether or not parents knew or anyone else knew the whereabouts of their kids, NO ONE should have to fear death at a zoo... not death by a wild animal. The zoo is at fault and should be closed down until it can pass every inspection known to zoo-kind.

Answer 4

i so agree with you! it was christmas, the stupid guys should of been with their family instead of at the zoo! i say they made the tiger very mad and she jumped the moat wall and and well attacked! yes the exibit should have been more enclosed and safe but its not an every day thing that a Siberian Tiger escapes! i hope i dont sound too insensitive but, those guys were idiots! they were ignorant and were not thinking. now one of thems dead and the other two are scared for life! literally! the tiger was shot and killed which is sad. but on the other hand the police did not have enogh time to get a tranquilizer gun without the tiger taking a few more lives. the faults lie at the guys. they were mean and disrespectful and they are just stupid!

Answer 5

Angry a little are you? I use to take dates to the zoo. It was free, and romantic. Walking hand and hand, oh yeah, we should have mom and dad along? I was only 16 at the time. Your question is a rant. Why? If a 17 year old climbed into a tiger enclosure and poked the tiger with a stick, would that be the parents fault? If he killed and raped his girlfriend, would that be their fault? The father is not to blame. The zoo was negligent as even you put it. You claim that a 20 foot wall is not high enough. Should the 17 year old know that? Should his father?
One would think their children are safe at a zoo, especially at near adulthood.

Answer 6

According to an MSNBC report, an inspector just tagged the fence as a major problem. It was 12.5 feet, well short of the 16.4 foot standard.

Whether or not those kids were fooling around with the tiger I don't know, but I think that it was a combination of zoo ignorance and visitor foolishness, only because they apparently also found a shoe in the enclosure.

Answer 7

I can't really say its the zoo's fault. I would have blamed it on them for not having a tall enough fence but they had been inspected in the past by AZA and they never said anything about the fence. I'm also still wondering if those boys were teasing the animal. Its a shame what happened there. I also hear reports the zoo was poorly lit and didn't have enough surveillance cameras. I think if they had a camera near the cage they could have figured out what really happened.

Answer 8

...er those "children" were like 18 or 20 years old, so I wouldn't expect their parents to still be taking them to the zoo!

Also, it's pretty stupid to suggest that one should assume when they go to the zoo that they might get mauled by a Tiger, just because a Tiger is a fearsome predator. The idea of a zoo is that it's a place where you can see a Tiger WITHOUT BEING EATEN!!

The zoo is at fault. The wall wasn't high enough. End of story.

Answer 9

When you do something stupid that leads to consequences, it's your own fault. When the bratty boys tormented the amazingly strong and heavy wild animal, they did something very stupid. It is their own fault. It is also partially the parents' fault for raising such obnoxious, troublemaking disrespectful children and not knowing where they were. If the parents had taught their children to behave in society, follow important safety rules and respect nature and life, this would never had happened. The attack all boils down to human stupidity.

Answer 10

Sometimes animals that are wild have other reasons to attack humans besides being provoked, so I believe the zoo should have had more protection.

P.S. Parenting a 17 year old at 5pm should not be a major focal point.