When I wrote A Terrible Month for Tigers at the end of last month I really didn’t know what to make of the tiger escaping from its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo.
I hated to think the zoo was at fault, and was inclined to believe they weren’t. I mean, zoos go to a lot of trouble to make sure those enclosures are safe. Not just to protect zoo goers but to keep the animals safe too.
But I also didn’t want to think the men who were attacked had taunted the tiger to the point it was hell bent on getting at them. Although, I was more inclined to believe this situation. I’ve had the misfortune of being around people acting pretty nasty towards certain beasts behind bars precisely because they are behind bars and the people trust that will protect them.
No one still knows for sure what happened that day. How the tiger got out or if the men were somehow to blame. Only the tiger and those men know the truth. Even if the tiger hadn’t been shot dead it couldn’t talk anyway. And the men? Well, if they did have something to do with it I don’t think they expected one of their own to die.
However, no matter what happened, it’s a really, really sad situation. I heard the 911 calls on Anderson Cooper 360 the other night. Frightening.
As I listened, I imagined how I would feel not having anything to do with the tiger getting out. Just being an innocent bystander stuck in a zoo with a tiger on the loose, watching a friend get mauled to death, and then not being able to get anyone to believe me.
That’s the situation they were in. At first zoo workers thought their cries of a tiger on the loose were jokes. They said as much to 911 operators calling to try and verify whether units should be sent.
But eventually the 911 operator on the line with one of the men who had a cell phone did understand this was no joke. Then the trouble became, “What procedures do we follow to make sure emergency responders are safe too as they go to investigate the situation?”
The man ended up having to wait 20 minutes before help did arrive. Well, technically the help was there sooner, but they had to formulate a strategy for securing the situation.
And now the survivors of the attack are pulling a good old American stunt and suing everyone possible. The zoo, the city of San Francisco, and who knows who else.
So now the details and ultimate culpability will play out among the lawyers. I’ll be interested to see what happens.
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