S.F. Zoo reopens its big-cat exhibit
Guests were welcomed back two months after a fatal mauling, with added safety measures.
SAN FRANCISCO - If Tony the twice-widowed Siberian tiger was still grieving, he did a fine job of disguising it while licking his flame-colored paws for the few visitors who braved rain and a redolence of death to welcome him back.
The big-cat exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo reopened yesterday for the first time since Tony's mate, 250-pound Tatiana, killed a 17-year-old boy, mauled his two friends, and was shot to death by police after escaping the tigers' enclosure on Christmas.
The open-air grotto has higher walls, glass barriers and electrified wires to prevent another animal from getting out.
Breanne King of San Francisco, a zoo member, brought her two daughters, ages 4 and 10, to get a firsthand look at the safety measures, as well as at Tony and the Sumatran tiger and two lions that are his neighbors.
"I wanted to check it out and see if it's as safe as they said it was," said King, who said she was pleased with the improvements.
The lions and tigers were kept indoors for nearly two months, from the day Tatiana escaped until the refinements were finished Monday.
Robert Jenkins, the zoo's director of animal care, said the cats were kept stimulated with a steady stream of new playthings, balls sprinkled with spices and urine from other animals, and by showing them Disney's
The Lion King
and nature films.
From what zoo staff can tell, the animals were responding well to their new digs and could move between the outdoor exhibit and their indoor enclosures as they pleased, Jenkins said, adding they had "no signs of stress."
The zoo plans to give the big cats a few more days to get used to interacting with visitors again before resuming public feedings of the animals Tuesday, Jenkins said.
He is due to meet in two weeks with officials from the zoo-accreditation organization to report on the safety upgrades. The grotto now has 19-foot-high barriers - nearly 7 feet higher than at the time of the attack and about 3 feet higher than the Association of Zoos and Aquariums recommends.