Complicated human/tiger tragedy

Wow, really sad story about the tiger tragedy at the San Francisco Zoo this Christmas. I have a lot of thoughts but I really want to know more. But I'm not sure that's going to happen - that the two surviving boys will tell the truth. To be honest, it's not "in their best interest" to tell the truth especially if they taunted the tiger and then ran away as their friend was being killed which it looks like could be likely.

As someone who has researched tigers and becoming a tiger trainer, and has been to the SF Zoo and other zoos several times, I have a lot of things to say - based on what I know, the many many articles online about the incident and online comments I've been reading.

First, I would like to say this is a "tiger tragedy" and not a "tiger killing." The latter implies murder vs the former implies a tragic incident. A commenter from an SF Chronicle article came up with this and I'm going to copy him/her.

In no particular order:

1) Tigers can't be tamed. They're wild animals, and will and can attack. They are not social animals (vs lions) and don't run in packs. They live solitary and don't see other mammals as friends. They are dangerous. I think our GBox generation (and my gen BTW) doesn't get that; we're too distanced from the animal kingdom reality of killing.

2) The boys most likely taunted the tiger. Not sure the extent of the taunting but for the tiger to chase the two boys 300 yards into the cafe area to attack them, it appears to not be light taunting. And for the tiger to jump that barrier. Yes, the barrier might have been shorter than completely necessary but Tatiana has never jumped it before. Something must have really really provoked her to jump. Tigers aren't cold-blooded murderes, they're animals that will protect themselves. There isn't emotion like for humans.

3) Tigers are the only cats that swim in water. Lack of water in the moat does not signify negligent action by the SF ZOO; water would not have stopped the tiger from going in the moat.

4) The SF Zoo sucks tiger ass. It's small and dinky. Yes, I know nothing compares to my native San Diego Zoo but the SF Zoo is just hard to be at. Do I believe commenters online that say they worked at the zoo and there is neglect from management and it's run poorly? Yes. Should they have had cameras? Maybe but cameras 24/7 are expensive. There are reasons only newborn pandas have 24/7 cameras on them (Seriously, ppl LUV those panda cams); they cost monies, people. But... with Tatiana's history of appearing more agitated and stressed than the other tigers, cameras should have been installed. And no, I don't think Tatiana's incident last year with her trainer was entirely her fault. She acted like a tiger when the trainer put her hand into her feeding area. I'm sorry it happened but Tatiana was not being malicious.

5) Why wasn't the zoo called or notified when Tatiana got out? And who made the 911 calls? We definitely need more facts.

6) Should Tatiana have been killed by the police? Yes. Humans are always more valuable than animals, even endangered Siberian tigers. Seriously, this should not be a consideration. I love tigers and all but c'mon. There were no stun guns around and even then, they take 30 seconds to go into effect. Would you like to be mauled for 30 more seconds by one of the strongest animals in nature? Stupid question.

7) I find it unsettling that Wednesday night, the tiger exhibit at the Oakland Zoo was busier than normal.

8) If forensic evidence and honest testimony shows that the boys taunted the tiger by throwing sticks at it and crossing over the security fence and possibly dangling limbs over the edge, I believe they should be held responsible for the deaths of the boy and the tiger. They endangered other people's lives if they provoked the tiger to escape, just as if they unlatched the gate and released Tatiana that way. The SF Zoo cannot protect against idiots. Just like when someone climbs drunkenly over into the polar bear exhibit and gets ripped to shreds. Not the zoo's fault.

I wish cameras had been operating on the exhibit just so we could see what really happened. I sadly don't think the two boys, who reports appear to show them as punks and aggressive toward police, will tell the truth. Articles are saying they wouldn't give their names to police and wouldn't even give their dead friend's name. I understand not trusting police but when a tiger has just mauled you, who doesn't give all the info needed?

Should the SF Zoo be shut down? I don't know. But I don't think the zoo or tiger should be blamed for this. I will be really really angry if the families sue the zoo or city.