Big Cats Are Back at SF Zoo

Lions, tigers return to outdoor grottoes after fatal Christmas attack
By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 21, 2008 5:55 PM CST
Big Cats Are Back at SF Zoo
Tony, a 16-year-old Siberian tiger, paces at the San Francisco Zoo on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008, in San Francisco. Tony occupies the enclosure that previously held Tatiana, a 350-pound tiger that escaped Christmas Day killing one visitor and injuring two others. After barrier upgrades, the zoo%u2019s...   (Associated Press)

Seven tigers and lions are back in their outdoor grottoes at the San Francisco Zoo for the first time since a Siberian tiger killed a man on Christmas Day. The pens got a $1.7 million security upgrade after Tatiana escaped and attacked three people. Officials said the enclosure's front wall is now 19 feet high, 3 better than national standards.

The felines were held in indoor cages until the zoo finished installing hot wires, glass and concrete extensions on the enclosure walls, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The animals won't "even think of getting out," one official said. The zoo, meanwhile, continues its search for a new companion for Tony, Tatiana's former pen-mate.  (More Tatiana stories.)

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