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SF Statue Honors Killer Zoo Tiger

'I felt sorry for the sordid and needless way she died,' man says of Tatiana

By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 26, 2008 6:23 PM CST

(Newser) – A San Francisco artist has commemorated the tiger who fatally mauled a teenager at the city’s zoo last Christmas with a statue, the Chronicle reports. “I wanted to do something to commemorate the life and death of this beautiful creature,” Jon Engdahl, 48, said of Tatiana, who was killed by police after leaping from her enclosure and attacking three zoo visitors.

“This was a labor of love,” Engdahl said. “I identified with this beautiful animal. I felt sorry for the sordid and needless way she died.” Some witnesses say the teens were taunting the tiger before it attacked. Engdahl said he didn’t get permission from the city before placing the small sculpture along a stairway leading to Coit Tower, and will remove it if asked: “But I don’t think anyone will care.”

In this image from TV, paramedics arrive at San Francisco General Hospital with one of the victims of a tiger attack, Dec. 25, 2007, in San Francisco.
In this image from TV, paramedics arrive at San Francisco General Hospital with one of the victims of a tiger attack, Dec. 25, 2007, in San Francisco.   (KGO-TV)
This undated file photo provided by the San Francisco Zoo shows Tatiana, the female Siberian tiger that killed one man and injured two others before police shot it dead last Christmas.
This undated file photo provided by the San Francisco Zoo shows Tatiana, the female Siberian tiger that killed one man and injured two others before police shot it dead last Christmas.   (San Francisco Zoo)
A police officer examines a tiger enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007, in San Francisco following a Christmas Day tiger attack that left one person dead and two others injured. Tatiana, a Siberian tiger, escaped from the grotto and attacked three people before police shot...
A police officer examines a tiger enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007, in San Francisco following a Christmas Day tiger attack that left one person dead and two others injured....   (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Artist Jon Engdahl created a statue as a memorial for Tatiana, the tiger shot to death by police after it fatally mauled a San Francisco Zoo visitor last Christmas.
Artist Jon Engdahl created a statue as a memorial for Tatiana, the tiger shot to death by police after it fatally mauled a San Francisco Zoo visitor last Christmas.   (San Francisco Chronicle)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
riffran
Dec 27, 2008 4:49 AM CST
jerk......Teenager dead....he whines about the tiger.......bet he is a PETA fan...hey buddy I'm eating veal as I type this, while sitting on a tiger rug, with a baby harp seal parka in the closet.....and drinking milk.....lol...riff

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