http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814 The mission of the <a href="http://www.sfzoo.org/openrosters/view_homepage.asp?orgkey=1859">San Francisco Zoo</a> is "to connect people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature and advance conservation action."  Three zoo patrons on Christmas Day were connected with wildlife, but not in a way anyone would have wanted to see happen.  One of the zoo's largest cats managed to get out of its enclosure and, once the carnage ended the final body count was <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c en-us Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:16:15 EST Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:00:42 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#21 I think it involves a wacky picture of a cat captioned:  I CAN HAZ GERRYBURGER? Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:00:42 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#20 mmmmmm...flat cat carbonara. Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:39:03 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#19 If you do, Iron Chef, can you spare us how you tenderize the meat.  You know, let it sit out on Route 1 for about an hour. Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:23:30 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#18 Hey!  I love cats too.  We should share recipes. Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:58:25 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#17 I'm a dyed-in-the-wool cat lover, but if I came up on a loose tiger, I'd start shooting it too, even if it wasn't already eating a person. Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:24:06 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#16 <i>Or, alternately, I guess that's okay if you automatically accept the police version of every incident that results in a fatality, even if it's a "mere" nonhuman that draws the short stick.</i><p> Oh, come on, man. I guess it's okay to use that alternate Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:11:39 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#15 I want to know more about Gerry's "I love you tiger idea". Fri, 28 Dec 2007 07:47:47 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#14 Tatiana roars "can't we all just get along?" Fri, 28 Dec 2007 05:18:54 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#13 Or, alternately, I guess that's okay if you automatically accept the police version of every incident that results in a fatality, even if it's a "mere" nonhuman that draws the short stick. Fri, 28 Dec 2007 02:03:39 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#12 Hey Sue, haven't talked to you in a while. My larger point, or just question really, was that, from the news releases, it really isn't clear how "absolutely necessary" it was. Well done for having more information than everyone else, though. And Happy New Fri, 28 Dec 2007 01:40:10 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#11 <i>But, who goes to the zoo expecting the tiger to maul or eat you?</i> <p> I know--that's totally what the monkey safari at six flags is for! Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:54:10 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#10 <i>Even if no taunting was involved, has anyone questioned the decision to kill the tiger as opposed to tranquilize it?</i><p> I doubt it, because it was "absolutely undeniably necessary."<p> <i> Alerted by frantic calls from the zoo, four officers arrived Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:02:28 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#9 Even if no taunting was involved, has anyone questioned the decision to <i>kill</i> the tiger as opposed to tranquilize it? I mean, sure, okay, maneater, taste for human flesh, etc., blah blah, but there are over 6 billion of us out there assassinating pol Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:28:05 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#8 <i>There are reports that one victim scaled a wall and dangled his leg in front of the tiger and he might have placed a plank over the moat.</i><p> I was reading through some of the reader commentary from the SanFranChro article and it seems that the so-ca Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:43:56 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#7 One of the reasons sensational stories like this do get so much coverage is because you're never supposed to go to the zoo and get eaten by the animals.  That's why zoos have cages and fences and moats and stuff like that.  Amusement park rides i Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:05:19 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#6 Why is someone like Michela Alioto-Pier even making pronouncements at this time? It is true the zoo has an obligation to secure its animals from the actions of idiots, but if those guys put a plank across the moat (I initially suspected a disgruntled emplo Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:58:49 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#5 When I first read reports of possible taunting, it was reported along the lines that one or all of the victims had taunted the tiger by foolishly running to get away from it.  The common wisdom is you stay absolutely still in the face of an approachin Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:12:16 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#4 I don't think your comparison of the zoo death numbers to the amusement park numbers is valid, because the zoo death numbers are worldwide, while the amusement park numbers come only from the US. My guess is that US zoos (and amusement parks) are held to Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:06:22 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#3 According to <a href="http://www.iaapa.org/pressroom/AmusementRideInjuryStatistics.asp">this source</a>, fatalities at amusement parks have averaged about four per year since 1987.  Considering the humongous numbers of people who ride on attractions a Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:54:03 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#2 I was suspicious when I first heard this, it seems funny animal guy Jack Hanna is <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-ustige275515597dec27,0,7079134.story">too</a>:<p> "The zoo's director of animal care and conservation, Robert Jenkins, sai Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:47:32 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/12/26/10521/814#1 While zoo injuries like this are spectacular, I'd bet more people die or are injured each year from amusement park accidents than from zoo animal attacks. Getting back to a discussion we had a week or so ago in the story about ebola & bird flu - peopl Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:24:48 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/