POLICE radio transcripts from the night of a deadly tiger attack at San Francisco Zoo have revealed a scene of chaos, as staff struggled to sedate the beast and medics refused to enter until they knew they would be safe.
Zoo employees also initially questioned whether early reports of the attack had come from a mentally unstable person, according to an 18-page log of communications between police control staff and officers and emergency crews at the scene.
The
tiger that escaped from its enclosure killed Carlos Sousa, 17, whose throat was slashed as he tried to scare away the animal. Two of Mr Sousa's friends were injured and released from hospital on Saturday.
This is how the Christmas Day drama unfolded, according to the police-control log:
The first report comes in. Zoo personnel initially tell police the two men who reported the tiger escape may be mentally disturbed and "making something up," but one is bleeding from the back of the head.
Zoo employees report a tiger is loose.
By now, the zoo is being evacuated. Medics refuse to enter the zoo for several minutes until it has been secured. Meanwhile, zoo keepers try to round up what they believe to be multiple tigers on the loose and hit them with tranquilliser darts.
"Zoo personnel have the tiger in sight and are dealing with it," reads a note in the police-control log.
Medics locate one victim with a large puncture hole in his neck. As they attend to him, an officer spots the tiger sitting down before it flees and begins attacking another victim.
Officers begin firing, killing the 350lb Siberian tiger.
On Saturday, 50 people gathered outside the San Jose home of Mr Sousa's grandmother to attend a candlelit vigil.
Mourners watched as Mr Sousa's father stood in front of two enlarged photos of him and his son together. Choking back tears, he said: "I can see that he had a lot of friends here. I want you all to remember the good things that he did and carry this with you in your hearts for as long as you can."
Police said they had completed their investigation on zoo grounds and that officers had "found absolutely no evidence of an intentional release".
It is increasingly clear that the tiger climbed over the wall of its enclosure, which, at just under 12ft 6in high, was some 4ft below the recommended minimum for US zoos.
The zoo, which has been closed since the attack, is to reopen on Thursday. It could be heavily fined by regulators and lose its licence. It also could face a huge lawsuit from the victims or their families.
Meanwhile, nearby Oakland Zoo is to raise the height of the walls surrounding its tiger enclosure, which currently range from 13ft 6in to 16ft.
The full article contains 476 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
