Man attacked by tiger at Calgary Zoo.
By Chuck Chiang, Canwest News Service
CALGARY — A man has been sent to hospital with serious injuries after being attacked by a tiger at the Calgary Zoo early Monday morning, officials said.
Zoo staff says two men snuck into the zoo around 1 a.m. local time, unnoticed, and decided to visit the tiger enclosure in the zoo. One man made contact with one of the tigers and sustained injuries to his arms.
Zoo officials said his injuries are “significant.” Police said he was clawed and bitten. He was taken to Calgary’s Foothills Hospital.
At this point, staff members say they don’t believe the man entered the tiger enclosure, although he did scale a one-metre-high outer perimeter safety fence — one of two barriers around the tiger enclosure.
Speaking to reporters Monday morning, zoo officials said it’s likely the tiger snagged the man’s arm with a claw, causing him to be dragged into the enclosure.
It would have been impossible for anyone to make physical contact with the animal without standing right up against the fence, since it was designed to keep the animals in the enclosure, officials said.
Police are investigating, and no additional information was available yet, said a department spokesperson Monday morning.
Calgary Police said one of the two men involved in the incident — both 27 years old — used a cellphone to call a security guard they knew after the tiger mauled one of them. The zoo staffer took the men to a security office and 911 was called.
Police say criminal charges of break and enter are pending.
Zookeepers described the two-year-old tiger involved in the incident, Batali, as one of the most laid back tigers at the Calgary Zoo. Zookeepers speculate that Batali may have been spooked by the unexpected intrusion.
Officials say Batali was showing stress when keepers got to him Monday morning, but has since calmed down.
The tigers kept at the Calgary Zoo are Siberian tigers, the largest cat species in the world. They can be anywhere from 3.05 to 3.66 metres in length, and weigh up to 306 kilograms, according to the zoo website.
Animal experts say these tigers are tremendous hunters and have the ability to leap up to 10 metres, although they usually jump half that distance during regular activities. The animals are also known to fiercely defend their territories and food resources.
A similar incident happened in San Francisco just a week ago. On Sept. 26, a man snuck into a grizzly-bear pen at the San Francisco Zoo, but was promptly spotted and removed. The man was uninjured in that incident. Officials there credit new security measures implemented since a 2007 attack — by another Siberian Tiger — at the San Francisco Zoo, which killed one man and injured two others.
Calgary Herald
Photo: Khasam, 15-year-old Sibertian tiger who was euthanized after a battle with cancer at the Calgary Zoo in 2004. The tiger had been at Calgary Zoo since 1991. Photo by Ted Jacob/CanWest News Service.
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