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Zoo: Killer Tiger Was Provoked

Posted Dec 27, 07 11:18 AM CST in US 

(Newser) – The victims of the Christmas Day tiger mauling may have tried to climb into the animal’s enclosure, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Police have found a shoe and blood near the cage moat, and a footprint on the fence. “Somebody really agitated her and gave her some method to break out,” the zoo’s director said of Tatiana, the 4-year-old Siberian tiger who was shot and killed after the attack.

Police say there’s no evidence to suggest the three victims were taunting the tiger, but sources tell the Chronicle pine cones found within the enclosure couldn’t have fallen there naturally and were probably thrown. The escaping tiger killed one, injured the others, and then followed their trail of blood for 300 yards, ignoring other zoo patrons.

Source San Francisco Chronicle

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Carlos Sousa, left, and his wife Marilza Sousa address the media about the death of their son Carlos Jr. at their home in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007. Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, of San Jose,...   (Associated Press)
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Tatiana, a female Siberian tiger that killed one person and injured two others, is seen at the San Francisco Zoo in this Dec. 28, 2006, file photo. The big cat exhibit at the Zoo was cordoned off as a...   (Associated Press)
Tatiana, a female Siberian tiger that killed one person and injured two others, is seen in the lion house at the San Francisco Zoo in this Sept. 6, 2007, file photo. (AP Photo/San Francisco Chronicle,...   (Associated Press)
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San Francisco Zoo • tigers • tiger mauling • Tatiana • Carlos Sousa Jr • Siberian tiger


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