Tuesday 6 October 2009

Tiger attacks intruder in zoo

Photo: MJCdetroit

Tue Oct 6, 2009

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A man suffered injuries to his arms after he and a friend hopped the fence at a Canadian zoo early on Monday and stuck his hands into the tiger exhibit, zoo officials said.

The Calgary Zoo said the two men sneaked into the facility after midnight and headed to the Siberian tiger enclosure, where one of the men climbed over an outer fence.

"He did not enter the exhibit, but did come into contact with one of the tigers and sustained significant injuries to his arms," the zoo said in a statement.

Alerted to the situation, security guards took the alleged intruders to their office, where the injured man was treated before being rushed to hospital.

Police are investigating.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones; Editing by Frank McGurty)

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE59559420091006?rpc=401&

3 comments:

  1. Apparently a lot of folks in the media and such think we should get all up in arms when zoo animals harm tourists, but personally, I'm not going to get upset when the animal is just doing what comes naturally. I mean, they are still wild, after all. If the guy's dumb enough to put his hands in the tiger pen or leap into the lion den, he deserves whatever he gets. Just my opinion.

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  2. I totally agree, Andrew.
    When all is said and done, we humans will try to defend our homes against attack by thugs, so why should creatures like these not be expected to defend their homes from idiots.

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  3. Mind you, not all wild animals are that wild. The Superintendant of the Dublin Zoo used to get into the tiger cages and stroke them. However, he had raised them in his house by bottle feeding when they were abandoned, so I wouldn't advise your average visitor to any zoo to try this.

    Some years ago tigers in Belfast Zoo (not the ones there today)were so tame that rabbits set up a warren in their enclosure and went unmolested. To these tigers, food came in bowls. It didn't have long ears and hop around.

    The Emperor Nero, by the way, was said to have a pet tiger.

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