Escaped Tiger in San Francisco

[Wile_E]

@carnivorousplant

From the Post article:

“The zoo plans to reopen tomorrow, but visitors will not be allowed to see the lions, tigers or bears …”

Oh my!

[cmkeller]

Do not taunt Happy Fun Tiger

[Boyo_Jim]

@EddyTeddyFreddy

Today the New York Post is reporting that slingshots were found on all three victims of the tiger attack:

I caught a TV newscast this morning mentioning the Post’s story as well as other reports that the two brothers who survived, who are age 19 and 23, lobstermobster, had at least one vodka bottle in their car.

Is all this true? No way to know yet, and in any case an insufficiently secure enclosure is mostly at fault, but I can’t work up much sympathy for any asshole who’d think it amusing to use a slingshot to harass a caged animal.

OTOH, an SF cop seems to be denying it:

San Francisco Police Sgt. Steve Mannina said today that the police investigation is ongoing. He refuted rumors that the three San Jose men used slingshots or laser pens to taunt the tiger.

And I came across my favorite quote of the story AND my favorite lawyer name OF ALL TIME combined in this story:

Another lawyer, Khaldoun Baghdadi, said "no matter what kind of taunting the kids did, the zoo is facing significant exposure because tigers shouldn’t get out of their cages. You almost don’t need a law degree to know that.

[Boyo_Jim]

And here is another interesting San Francisco Chronicle story alleging that the zoo director is a major fuckup:

A koala is kidnapped. Sheep are molested by a human intruder. An elephant does a headstand on a technician, breaking her pelvis. A tiger ravages its keeper’s arm. A year later, on Christmas Day, the same feline escapes, kills and gets killed…

The very public tragedy overshadows decades of problems - and the troubles of the current zoo administration, which began in February 2004 when Manuel Mollinedo became director of the 100-acre facility…

Three of the zoo’s four elephants have died since March 2004 - two at the zoo, a third at a Calaveras County sanctuary where it was sent, broken-down and ailing. The lone survivor still lives there. The fight over the pachyderms’ fate, taken up by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and animal rights activists, enraged the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which tabled the zoo’s accreditation for a year…

Since Mollinedo took over, there has been a steady exodus of employees, including the deputy director, education director, two successive public relations managers, development director, curator of birds, marketing manager, events director, human resources manager, general manager of concessions and a number of veteran keepers.

Michele Rudovsky, associate curator of hoofstock and pachyderms, starting working at the zoo as a teenager but quit in August after more than a quarter-century. Head veterinarian Freeland Dunker also resigned and will depart in early January for the California Academy of Sciences.

[Boyo_Jim]

I dunno why I find this story so entertaining. Here is an LA Times comment suggesting the SF Chronicle coverage is biased against Mollinedo because

Mollinedo ran the L.A. Zoo in 2001 on the day that a Komodo dragon bit off a chunk of toe belonging to the San Francisco Chronicle’s executive editor Phil Bronstein. That’s a fact that may help keep the Chronicle’s attention on Mollinedo as the probe of the tiger attack continues.

And since that story was essentially a letter to the editor, I looked around to find some confirmation and found this little gem, another Chronicle story:

Prior to the incident, Bronstein was wearing white tennis shoes. But because the dragon is fed white rats, the zookeeper suggested he remove the shoes so the animal did not mistake them for its next meal.

[carnivorousplant]

“Prior to the incident, Bronstein was wearing white tennis shoes. But because the dragon is fed white rats, the zookeeper suggested he remove the shoes so the animal did not mistake them for its next meal.”

The alligators at the Little Rock Zoo are fed white rate and were attracted to the white tennis shoes of an employee entertaining us while she waited for the rats. I suspect the incident was staged, but they really did go after her shoes.

[Leaper]

@Wile E

Oh my!

Funny! Wouldn’t it have been great if the poster you were replying to had thought to make that joke?

[carnivorousplant]

@carnivorousplant

The alligators at the Little Rock Zoo are fed white rate

Rats, dammit, white rats. :rolleyes:

[Boyo_Jim]

@carnivorousplant

“Prior to the incident, Bronstein was wearing white tennis shoes. But because the dragon is fed white rats, the zookeeper suggested he remove the shoes so the animal did not mistake them for its next meal.”

The alligators at the Little Rock Zoo are fed white rate and were attracted to the white tennis shoes of an employee entertaining us while she waited for the rats. I suspect the incident was staged, but they really did go after her shoes.

But I wonder, if she didn’t have them on, would they have gone after her feet?

Maybe Bronstein has ginormous toes. My seaching found other stories about him having reconstructive surgery and several months of rehab PT, as his big toe was nearly torn off.

[Wile_E]

@Leaper

Funny! Wouldn’t it have been great if the poster you were replying to had thought to make that joke?

No one notices subtitles and the “oh my!” is supposed to come after not before. So there.

Gosh, someone missed something in another poster’s post! That never happens on the Dope! Throw her to the lions!

[sub]Tigers! or Bears![/sub]

[carnivorousplant]

@Wile E

No one notices subtitles and the “oh my!” is supposed to come after not before. So there.

I suffered in Great Anguish and Guilt upon where to put the “Oh MY!”. I knew I would screw it up either way.

[Wile_E]

I only noticed the subtitle after Leaper linked to it and I stared at it for 5 minutes trying to see what he was talking about. And I only noticed this one since my Subtitle noticing senses are more heightened right now.

@carnivorousplant

I suffered in Great Anguish and Guilt upon where to put the “Oh MY!”. I knew I would screw it up either way.

You were more worried about your “white rates”, you probably wouldn’t have even noticed my post if Leaper hadn’t pointed it out. It’s all Leaper’s fault! Let’s throw him to the tigers!

[Ludovic]

@Gangster Octopus

And by South Park you mean The Simpsons.

The Simpsons did EVERYTHING.

[carnivorousplant]

@Wile E

my Subtitle noticing senses are more heightened right now.

I think we have all Learned Something from this thread.

[lobstermobster]

@EddyTeddyFreddy

I caught a TV newscast this morning mentioning the Post’s story as well as other reports that the two brothers who survived, who are age 19 and 23, lobstermobster, had at least one vodka bottle in their car.

what?

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

@lobstermobster

what?

Referring to this post by you, in which you said:

whoa whoa whoa hold the phone. You mean to tell me that a group of 17 year old boys are capable of causing trouble?! This cannot possibly true. I was 17 once and the boys I knew certain didn’t enjoy pleasure. In fact, they hated pleasure! Trouble and pleasure were the two things I thought 17 year old boys hated the most!

There is – or should be – a considerable difference in maturity and common sense between a 17-year-old and a 23-year-old. Why, some folks would actually be crazy enough to think that a 23-year-old is an adult , not just a feckless, innocent, can’t be held responsible for any silly hijinks he gets up to boy.

[carnivorousplant]

@EddyTeddyFreddy

There is – or should be – a considerable difference in maturity and common sense between a 17-year-old and a 23-year-old.

That would depend upon the amount of alcohol consumed.

[lobstermobster]

@EddyTeddyFreddy

Referring to this post by you, in which you said:

There is – or should be – a considerable difference in maturity and common sense between a 17-year-old and a 23-year-old. Why, some folks would actually be crazy enough to think that a 23-year-old is an adult , not just a feckless, innocent, can’t be held responsible for any silly hijinks he gets up to boy.

Oh yeah. I wrote that mess the day after the attack and from the information on the radio. There is much more information now. I didn’t know one of them was 23. Still, people are dumb. And curiously dumb. There will be people from 5 to 85 who will put their tongue on a frozen metal pole, put their vibrating cell phone up their butt, or slingshot rocks at a tiger. That’s what the 16 foot wall is supposed to be for.

[lisacurl]

from the San Francisco Chronicle article cited by Boyo Jim:

“Animals being taunted was always an issue,” an ex-employee said. “But you should be able to walk down there slathered in raw meat and not have them get out.”

That zoo director has a lot to answer for.

[Cervaise]

@lobstermobster

That’s what the 16 foot wall is supposed to be for.

I would like to see two walls.

The 16 foot wall is for people who behave themselves.

Then there’s a separate 8 foot wall in front of it with a sign reading “if you wish to taunt the man-eating carnivore, please do it from here.”