And it comes out

[urbpan]

Sorry I jumped to blame the victim, but it appears I was right.

Okay, so the wall was four feet shorter than the AZA recommendations state. It still took 60 years for someone to be obnoxious enough to annoy the tiger into jumping out.

Here's where the zoo is really culpable: these three guys apparently drunkenly roamed the zoo taunting animals conspicuously enough for zoo guests to report it, for some amount of time, without security throwing them out. But once again, it was Christmas day, and I imagine they were short staffed.

When someone dies for a stupid reason, there's enough blame to go around for everyone.

Comments

[sin-agua.livejournal.com]

I was extremely suspicious when I heard the victims' gender and ages. I didn't believe this animal just went to all this trouble over nothing.

Young people + alcohol + assholish behavior = comeuppance/death.

I'm just sad the tiger in this case was killed. As far as I'm concerned, it was self-defense and the young men should have to pay to buy the zoo another Siberian tiger.

Taunting children and animals: two things I just can't abide.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Yikes.

It seems increasingly clear that the kids should be held responsible and that it would be appropriate for the survivors to have to pay a fine to the zoo (I have no idea what the cost of a Siberian tiger is or whether it is at all realistic to expect them to shoulder the replacement costs).

But it is hard for me to see anything other than a tragedy for all concerned here. A young man died here. Even if you argue that he deserved what he got (I am not sure that I would agree but it is certainly up for debate), his family will be left with that hole for the rest of their lives. I am sad that the tiger was killed but I find that even more saddening.

[sin-agua.livejournal.com]

I spoke a bit emotionally this morning, but I'm still not sure I feel sorrier for the kid than for the tiger.

Your icon is adorable, btw. ;)

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

Pay a fine?!? Getting killed isn't enough punishment? How about if they fed the kid's corpse to the other tigers? And who killed the tiger? Not the kids. Why did the tiger get killed? Not because the kids bothered it, it was because it got out of its inadequate enclosure and killed someone. Let the dope who ok'd the poor design pay for a new tiger, or the people that built the enclosure. I think the dead kid has paid for his mistake, and I'm guessing that the ones who survived won't do anything similar anytime soon. The zoo is completely at fault here. If their tigers are so sensitive, why don't they put plexiglass between them and the humans. Or maybe they should just have a rickety short, little fence, and they could ask everyone to sign a waiver saying that if someone--anyone--annoys the tigers, someone--anyone--might get killed by that tiger. Then people might behave a little better. Seriously though, I agree, this is a tragedy.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

To be clear (I hope!) I think that it would not be unreasonable to expect the survivors of the attack to pay a fine to the zoo. (But I also think that you could make a good argument that they have sure as hell learned their lesson.)

In any event, there is no doubt whatever that the dead boy's family has suffered enough.