Lions, tigers, leopards, and other cats are predators–they are hardwired to kill living things and eat them. The recent tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo involved attacks on three visitors. There was one fatality and the other two victims are in critical condition.

According to Big Cat Rescue the U.S. (up through 2006) has 79% of ALL captive cat incidents. Since there is no reporting agency that keeps such records the actual numbers are unknown.

In a captive environment, predators will exhibit hardwired behavior, especially at feeding time or under stress conditions. Aggression is common in escaped captive wildife.

Although each situation is different, unfamiliar surroundings put an animal on alert and into attack mode. For the animals, survival of the fittest often translates into attack first–investigate later.

Just how Tatiana escaped has not been revealed yet. The refurbished exhibit was only reopened on September 7, 2007 so it will be interesting to see what the investigation reveals.

Wild animal escapes may be due to equipment failure, design flaws, human error, or damage to an exhibit, such as in the case of disasters.

My guess it that it is one of the first three. Since the exhibit has only been open again for a short time it is hard to say whether or not it was human error or exhibit issues or failure. Here is the link to my comments and other news info on the San Francisco’s Zoo tiger attack in 2006.

Above: Chart of estimated wild cat attacks annually courtesy of Big Cat Rescue. Click to enlarge.

San Francisco Lion House Reopens as Feline Dining Area

Photos taken during rabbit feeding in San Francisco Zoo’s Old Lion House

Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Fatalities 2001-2006

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