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Wall of tiger's enclosure was shorter than standard

The zoo director thought the wall was taller.

By Times Wires
Published December 28, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO - The wall of a moat that surrounds the San Francisco Zoo's tiger enclosure is far shorter than officials thought and also below national standards, authorities said Thursday.

Zoo officials have gone back and forth on the grotto's measurements since a 350-pound tiger escaped on Christmas Day, killing Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, and seriously injuring two of his friends. The survivors were identified Thursday as brothers Paul Dhaliwal, 19, and Kulbir Dhaliwal, 23. All of the victims were from San Jose.

"Today we went out and measured the moat ourselves," said zoo director Manuel Mollinedo. The tiger "had to have jumped. How she jumped that high is beyond me."

Mollinedo said his staff found that contrary to information they had on file, the moat wall is 12 1/2 feet high. The walls around a tiger exhibit should be at least 16.4 feet high, according to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. He said inspectors had examined the 1940 wall and never raised red flags about its size. He also said a 33-foot "moat," which never contained any water, was sufficient to meet the standards.

On Wednesday, Mollinedo said the wall was 18 feet high and the moat 20 feet wide. Based on those incorrect dimensions, animal experts expressed disbelief that a tiger in captivity could have made such a spectacular leap.

AZA spokesman Steven Feldman said that the minimum height is just a guideline and that a zoo could still be deemed safe even if its wall were lower. He would not comment on how difficult it would be for a tiger to scale a 12 1/2-foot wall. But Siberian tigers are known to have phenomenal strength in the wild.

"There are rare glimpses of this in the real world that suggest, when taunted, tigers can be fairly extraordinary in their physical feats," said Ronald Tilson, a big-cat expert at the Minnesota Zoo who sets safety standards for tiger exhibits.

Police are still investigating and have declared the big-cat exhibit a crime scene. Chief Heather Fong said police had no information that anyone had put a leg over the railing, and she said no shoe was found in the animal's enclosure.

She said a shoeprint was found on the railing of the fence surrounding the enclosure, and police were checking it against the shoes of the three victims.

Mollinedo said surveillance cameras and new fencing will be installed around the exhibit.

Information from the San Francisco Chronicle and Associated Press was used in this report.

Vandals free cougars at zoo

Two cougars freed from an eastern Wisconsin zoo exhibit by vandals were captured Thursday on zoo grounds without injury. Vandals cut a chain-link fence overnight at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Manitowoc to free the animals from their habitat.

Associated Press

[Last modified December 27, 2007, 22:15:13]