I'll concede that these kids were acting like jackasses. But to me, the only relevant part of this story is that the wall was FOUR FEET SHORTER than the recommended minimum. Why does it matter that they were drinking or smoking weed or acting like idiots? The whole point of this story seems to debunk the idea that these kids were victims of a tiger attack. Take, for example, this quote:
"As a result of this investigation, (police believe) that the tiger may have been taunted/agitated by its eventual victims," according to Inspector Valerie Matthews, who prepared the affidavit. Police believe that "this factor contributed to the tiger escaping from its enclosure and attacking its victims," she said.
Yeah. And another factor? THE WALL WAS TOO SHORT.
They probably should have been kicked out of the zoo. And standing on a wall and taunting a tiger is never a good idea. But to suggest that they had what was coming to them? Enh.
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On the entire planet, there are only thousands of tigers left... however, there are millions and millions of these losers. The right justice is for these kids to be executed.
It's too bad the tiger didn't kill all of these pieces of human crap.
The wall was shorter than recommended, but it had been adequate for the last 67 years until these jackasses came along. They were teasing the tiger....why be surprised when it reacted like a tiger would? They caused the death of an endangered species and I have trouble feeling any amount of sympathy for them.
Like the blogger said, who cares if the visiters were jackasses or not? The enclosure housed dangerous animals. What if the victims were six years old and taunting the tiger? At the end of the day, the SF Zoo created an enclosure that the tigers could escape from, and reportedly not for the first time!
I agree. It really doesnt matter what these people did, even if they were throwing things at the tiger. The enclosure should be prepared for anything. These are wild animals. It could have snapped and escaped just because it didnt want to be locked up in an enclosure anymore. Whoever is putting blame on the people that were attacked are just ridiculous..
speaking of losers you can add the above three at the top of the list! the only fact that matters is the wall was too low for public safety!a woman said on her visit to the zoo that the tiger put it's paws over the wall and frightened herself and her child and she told zoo personnel who responded with" she does that all the time. Were they aping around too?It could have been a child for God's sake!those kids were probably goofing around but that doesn't excuse the zoo's incompetence.It also makes it all the more disgusting that the zoo in an obvious attempt to influence a future jury pool has hired a professional spin doctor to trash those kids.
Tatiana the tiger is a hero! She gave her life to get those bastards that were tormenting all the animals at the zoo. I'm sure all of the zoo animals would thank and respect her for her sacrifice.
Those walls and fences are not just to protect the people at the zoo, they are there to protect the animals from idiots like this. I think the zoo should beat those guys and Geragos to the punch and sue them for causing the death of the tiger!
The remaining kids should be locked up in a public zoo pen with a stick and rock, placed on display for 10 years, while others taunt, throw popcorn and yell at them. Tuesday and Friday will be "bath day" whereas they shall be hosed down for 20 minutes with cold water, then fed through a hole in the wall.
Maybe.. just maybe.. justice will be served then.
So they had it comming? Are you guys actually thinking before you write? What does the character of these guys or what they were doing have to do with anything? They were at a freaking zoo. Shouldn't they be guaruanteed that the tiger is unable to jump out of it's area?
What if one of these dudes was your son? Like the rest of us at one time or another YOUR SON had one too many and acted like a jerk...according to you guys, it would be pefectly ok for a lion to maul him, cause he had it comming.
Yall are tools. How about building bigger walls and safer zoos?
I don't know if they had it coming......but they were definitely asking for it. People might think twice now before taunting animals for their own amusement. Oh yeah...also Geragos is a big liar. "The boys did nothing wrong, and Scott Peterson is innocent!"
Wow, I'm real impressed by all you people saying that some kids deserved to be mauled by a tiger just because they were yelling...it takes real courage to make such a statement in an anonymous internet forum. Give yourselves a pat on the back.
Aren't zoos supposed to assume this kind of stupid behavior is going to occur - especially when those zoos SERVE ALCOHOL - and take the precautions to make sure it doesn't turn into a tragedy? Why are the police trying to shift the blame from the zoo to the victims? Oh yeah...they're Latino. Now I understand.
Well yes in all reality they did have it comming, what parents teach their kids to taunt a wild animal, sick very sick you obviously are not an animal person. I respect animals over humans and this was bound to happen. How many animals have to suffer and be abused by humans? Wolfs being shot by over head plans, seals being beaten by clubs, I can go on.
Human life is precious so is an animal life. It is sad that both suffered at the end, due to kids (immatured Tennager) that does not know responsibilities and does not know what is right or wrong.
Indirectly, it is also a reflection of our world today, society problem...
First of all Dave what does being latino have to do with it. Oh It's a tiger now I understand!
The thing I don't think people are taking into consideration is the Tiger. Because she jumped on the guy doesn't mean she was trying to hurt him. That's how Tigers typically play, they jump on the back of the person they are playing with. It just so happens she was 350 lbs. I'm a Biologist and I love and have studied Tigers and the first thing you are taught is to never turn your back to them after playing or initiating play because that's a "let's play" sign to them. Now these guys were a little dumb for what they did, but it should be considered that she wasn't trying to kill them.
Also I'm wondering why they had to shoot to kill and not just tranquilize?? It kind of seems as if the zoo had no course of action to handle something like this.
Stop wasting money on building higher wall. Zoo's should be have never been. Let the animals be free in their own environment. If you feel the need to taunt them then, have at it, but be prepared to pay the price, wild kingdom style. If you want to learn about tigers, visit them on their own grounds, or google it in the safety of your own home.
I have to agree with alot of the people here. The boys were wrong, but the zoo still had a responsibility to protect the tiger and others. The wall was to short.
People need to take personal responsibility for their actions. They were drunk and admitted to smoking pot before visiting the zoo. What kind of idiot do you have to be to taunt a wild animal? How much more do we need to do to save people from themselves and their dumb actions? Better they were stopped at the zoo before they got back into their car and killed someone while driving drunk or high.
Here Here! Yes they were well over the legal limit, should they get in their car and drive and taunt and kill some humans on the road because that could have happened. Who gets drunk and goes to the zoo and taunts tigers. Two lives were taken, not to mention the sorrow the parents must feel and not to mention the expenses the zoo has now that should be going to the animals.
Yes, these morons had it coming, and the only thing that the short height of the wall only means Karma got to literally jump out and bite these punks on the a$$. That wall held Tigers there for years, only till these morons taunted and provoked it to the point where a tiger chased them from behind a walled in cage. They are probobly lying about throwing stuff as well, since they lied to cover their a$$ since this happened. These morons should be fined and charged to the law, and have to repay the Zoo the cost of the Tiger. If these Darwin Award Winners we're not visiting the Zoo that day, this animal probobly would have lived till it';s natural death.
Okay people...go ahead and argue with me if it makes you feel better. In the end, the civil courts will prove I'm right. All they needed was a higher fence and then it wouldn't have happened.
News flash, people: a stupid drunk teenager isn't the only thing that might make a tiger freak out. Anything else might have set that tiger off instead, and then you wouldn't have three stupid kids you could blame it on.
Loss of life is always a tragedy. Did that boy deserve to die for his actions? No. Did the others deserve to be mauled? No. But just how ignorant, drunk, high, do you have to be to taunt a 350 lb carnivorous wild animal? Pretty ignorant, pretty drunk, pretty high. As for the height of the fence-the recommended height might be 4 ft taller, but there was no law that said it had to be 16 ft. just a recommendation. The same tiger attacked another person just the year before and recommendations were made for rehabing the enclosure---they did not include a higher fence. The zoo was also in good standing when it was inspected. If the inspectors thought there was a problem with the height of the fence they would have ordered the zoo to make changes.
In my state, if you're in a car accident, they judge who is at fault by which car entered the others path. It doesn't matter if the other car was speeding, if you "entered its path" you are to blame for the accident. These boys entered the tigers path. If they hadn't taunted her she wouldn't have jumped the enclosure--something that apparently had never been done before. And for those that mention little children, you might keep in mind that small children wouldn't be there unless accompanied by an adult that I'm sure would prevent them from taunting the tiger atop the wall. I believe it was Chastity that asked about the tranquilizer gun..it was my understanding they were hoping to tranquilize the cat but she started mauling one of the brothers and the cops had no choice but to take her down before they could get there with the tranquilizer gun.
So did they deserve this? No.
But they paid a heavy price for their stupidity.
I wonder if when they built the enclosure they told zoo officials, "okay, you're all set. Just understand that if anyone taunts any of the tigers, all bets are off." Or if when they got Tatiana they were told of specific words or hand gestures that she found particularly offensive and might send her over the inadequate enclosure. I happen to know a tiger that is just the sweetest thing, but if you moon her, she will eat you.
"But just how ignorant, drunk, high, do you have to be to taunt a 350 lb carnivorous wild animal?"
You don't have to be ignorant, drunk, or high to believe that when they put the tiger in the cage, they first made sure that cage would hold it. That still doesn't excuse their actions, but it's a perfectly reasonable assumption that the tiger can't get out.
The San Francisco Zoo also had the perfectly reasonable expection that a 17 yr old, a 19 yr old and a 24 yr old wouldn't be reckless enough to stand on TOP of the fence and taunt a dangerous animal.
LOL aside from the fact that it's (unfortunately) quite common for people to taunt someone or some thing that's locked in a cage for public display, it's not reasonable at all to assume that of the thousands of people that come through a public attraction every day, NONE of them will act like idiots. In fact, you have to assume that someone WILL act like a fool, and plan for a worst-case-scenario. Museums don't "assume" nobody will touch the paintings, they have security guards to make sure. Theaters don't "assume" nobody will disrupt the performance, they have ushers to make sure of it. Bars don't "assume" nobody will get belligerent, they have bouncers to kick them out. There's no question AT ALL who's responsible here, if you don't believe me, wait and see what happens when the victims and their estates sue. They're going to win...easily.
The zoo was perfectly reasonable in assuming that the enclosure was safe, even from idiots, as there had not been an escape prior to this. I have no doubt that there will be damages paid. But keep in mind that doesn't mean the boys were innocent. Everyday people settle lawsuits in the desire to put the incident behind them, mitigate bad publicity etc. It does NOT mean they believe they were responsible. I hope that whatever damages they receive are mitigated by their behavior. Two of the three were legal adults and all three were old enough to know what they were doing was wrong. They should be made to realize they have personal responsibility in this tragic event
Sorry Loreos, while the enclosure obviously should have been adequate to guarantee visitor safety, there was obviously no problem with it for decades until these people went a little too far with their taunting.
If I was there at the time i would have pushed them in so the cats wouldn't have to climb out.
These guys lead the early nominations for the 2008 Darwin Awards.
That's really all I have to add.
Why didn't any of these people comment about Loree watching obscure movies while working out at the gym!?!?!?!
That's my question. Clearly, that was the most compelling WBB topic posted in the last 24 hours.
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