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Well, in my opinion wild animals should be left in the wild where they belong.

Personally, I think the zoo should be fined (for not being in compliance on wall height); the walls should be built higher (which they are), and all of the boys & their families should not get one penny!

I dont think the victims are angels, but still think the zoo are mostly responsible. And before anyone starts, weather an animal should be in captivity or not is not the topic.

Amen to that. Natural selection at work.

That animal proved less than a year earlier that it was both capable and willing to attack humans- and nothing was done about it- it was a ticking time bomb, and the mental state of the victims wouldn't have changed that. Another year, and maybe the Tiger would have escaped and attacked a sober person- and I have little doubt in my mind the same people who argue that these men were to blame would argue no matter *what* that anyone who that tiger attacked would be to blame, reguardless of their mental state or idiotic actions.

It was the accredidation agency that recommends walls be 16 feet, and IF they had mentioned it in any of their inspections, maybe the zoo would have complied to retain their accredidation. But, again, it was never an issue, and they were never told or recommended to change it. There was no reason to.
Yes, the tiger attacked a year ago, but it was a zoo employee, feeding it through bars, and the tiger reached through the bars. That was not quite a "mean" tiger.. it was an animal being fed, and an employee within reach of the tiger. They quit the practice of feeding them like that.
I would vote that the boys were at fault, but I would assume the zoo has the legal responsibility to keep the animals enclosed.

arieann - I think there's more to the story. I don't think that's all those kids did. We may find the story is just beginning to unfold.

Two more animal incidents at San Francisco Zoo

Snow Leopard Attempts Escape At SF Zoo

updated 8:45 p.m. ET, Tues., Jan. 15, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO - Since a tiger escaped its pen and killed a person, a snow leopard has ripped a small opening in its wire cage and workers have had to dart a polar bear to goad it into its night enclosure, San Francisco Zoo officials said Friday.

A nearly 100-pound snow leopard managed to rip a 4-inch hole in its wire mesh cage Thursday afternoon and got part of its head and paw out, zoo officials said. The zookeeper could have been harmed if she had not secured the cage, but visitors were never threatened because the cage was in a larger, secured enclosure, zoo spokesman Sam Singer said.

"Even if (the leopard) had escaped, he would have been in another cage so he would never have come in contact with the public," Singer said.

Last week, employees used darts to goad an obstinate polar bear into its night enclosure so that employees could work to raise the height of the walls there, zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca said. The bear never reached a height that would have allowed it to leave, she said.

Singer called the incident a "minor breach" and said the bear was not trying to escape. He denied the wall was raised because of the Jan. 3 incident.

Disclosure of the incidents comes after a 250-pound tiger escaped from its pen and attacked three zoo visitors on Christmas Day. Zoo officials have said the tiger likely climbed over a wall surrounding its enclosure that measured 12 1/2 feet — 4 feet lower than nationally recommended standards — after it was provoked.

Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, was killed in the Dec. 25 attack and his two friends were severely injured.

Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo said the leopard had been moved from the feline conservation area so workers could do maintenance there.

"At no point was there any danger to the public. This was a double containment area," Mollinedo said.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which accredits zoos throughout the United States, will send a three-person inspection team to San Francisco later this month, association spokesman Steve Feldman said.

"They'll be looking at the specifics of recent incidents, as well as the big-cat program in particular," Feldman said.

Mollinedo made his remarks during the first of several hearings at City Hall examining the tiger attack and ways to improve safety.

"Like you, I am committed to finding answer to make sure this type of accident does not happen again," Mollinedo said.

Dozens of zoo supporters and critics packed the hearing room to give public testimony. Most voiced support for the zoo, but many called for a change in management and asked Mollinedo to resign.

At the end of the meeting, the commissioners asked zoo officials to prepare a plan to improve security and emergency response, and ordered the city controller to audit the zoo's finances and performance.

Meanwhile, in a courtroom across the street from City Hall hearings, lawyers for the city and the surviving victims — Paul Dahliwal and Kulbir Dahliwal — appeared before a judge regarding items taken from the scene of the attack and from the brothers' car.

City officials believe that the items, including cell phones and clothing, could offer proof they were intoxicated and threw objects into the tiger enclosure shortly before the attacks, according to documents filed Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court.

The victims' lawyer insists the men did not taunt the tiger.

At the hearing Friday, a judge granted a request by the victims' attorney to move the case to Santa Clara County, where the brothers live. A hearing is scheduled for later this month.

Now, let's say that, while these cute, innocent 8 or 9 year olds were yelling and waving at tigers, supposedly safe and secure behind a fence at a zoo, as would reasonably be expected, the tiger managed to escape from the fence and gobble up a couple of those cute, innocent 8 or 9 year olds.

The great thing about big cats is how well they thin out the gene pool.