San Fran Zoo reopens; tiger display closed
SAN FRANCISCO — Nine days after a tiger mauled three visitors, the San Francisco Zoo reopened Thursday with safety improvements and more signs warning people not to pester animals such as the 350-pound Siberian tiger that killed a teenager.
The zoo's big-cat enclosure will remain closed indefinitely, but many visitors on Thursday said they wanted to show their support for the facility.
Zoo spokesman Paul Garcia said the zoo is installing a public-alert system that would broadcast an alarm to notify zoo staff of any emergency. Employees could then use portable speakers to give instructions to visitors.
The improvements were made as police investigated whether the tiger's victims had taunted the animal before it climbed or leaped out of its outdoor pen. Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, was killed, and his two friends were severely injured.
On Thursday, zoo officials invited visitors to bring items in remembrance of Sousa and the tiger, which was shot dead by police during the attack.
Some visitors placed flowers, cards and photographs of the animal beside a sculpture of a bronze tiger that has stood near the zoo entrance since before the mauling. An animal-rights group planned a candlelight vigil for Sousa and the tiger, named Tatiana.
A woman has claimed she saw three men teasing the animals shortly before the tiger attack, according to a report on the Web site of the San Francisco Chronicle. Jennifer Miller, who was at the zoo on Christmas with her husband and two children, said the family left the area because her kids were disturbed by the young men's behavior.
Police talked to Miller on Wednesday, but were not able to corroborate reports that the victims taunted the tigers. They also could not substantiate Miller's claim that a fourth person was with the attack victims, or what effect the taunting she described might have had.
Miller said Sousa, whom she later recognized in newspaper photos, was not harassing the animals.
Police spokesman Sgt. Steve Mannina said investigators were looking into whether alcohol was a factor in the attack. Toxicology tests on Sousa's body have not been completed, and results will probably not come back for several weeks, according to the San Francisco medical examiner's office.
