Tatiana [3]

[mdlbear]

Still more news: it seems that all three of the mauling victims knew one another, and the two survivors initially refused to give their names. And that there were blood spots along the path from the tiger exhibit to the Terace Cafe. The zoo is now being treated as a crime scene.

Articles here (with a different picture) and here [NY Times], here, and here. The San Jose Mercury has two rather similar stories (here and here) about the dead boy's family.

Comments

[danceswthcobras.livejournal.com]

I strongly suspect there is human stupidity involved here in a big way, and probably not on the part of the zookeepers.

[mdlbear]

It's certainly looking that way.

[ravan.livejournal.com]

Boy, something smells really fishy here. I would hate to be the two survivors answering the hard questions from the cops.

[mdlbear]

Not to mention the dead boy's family...

[tagryn]

Curiouser and curiouser...

Its possible that the tiger just "went off" and was able to escape on its own, but it seems like the probable is there was large amount of human intervention and/or stupidity involved.

[faxpaladin.livejournal.com]

Why do I foresee a "Law & Order" episode arising out of this...?

some physical evidence

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

From the NY Times article (your 3rd link):

Mr. Mollinedo [the zoo director] said that he had not seen a police report about Tuesday’s events but that he believed, in part based on a discussion with a crime site investigator, that there was blood outside the animal exhibit and blood spots were seen along one of the walkways near a trail leading to the cafe, where the injured brothers were found.

From the Houston Chronicle article (your 4th link):

The minimal evidence found at the scene included a shoe and blood in the 25-foot-wide moat that surrounds the tigers' grotto, raising questions about what role, if any, the victims might have had in accidentally helping the animal escape.

Police sources said a footprint had been found on a metal fence, suggesting that someone had climbed it to get closer to the big cats.

Sources said pinecones and sticks that were found in the moat might have been thrown at the animal. Those items could not have landed in the grotto naturally, they said.

[rowanf.livejournal.com]

Sounds like the young man may be a Darwin Award candidate. Too bad he took that beautiful animal with him.

[mdlbear]

Definitely Darwin quality. A winner and two (dis)honorable mentions, I should think.

[madtom-o-bedlam.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard the that Tatiana had been shot dead at the scene. That seems unfair to me.