[FEL-L] SF tiger attack

[Laura Morin]

Who knows if its really this bad... but ....


Witness: Tiger devoured keeper's arm in San Francisco Zoo mauling
The Associated Press
Published 10:54 pm PST Sunday, December 31, 2006

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A 350-pound tiger ate most of a zookeeper's right arm in a bloody mauling,
according to a witness to the San Francisco Zoo attack that has kept its
victim hospitalized for more than a week.

The zoo has not released the keeper's name or the extent of her injuries at
her family's request. But Vikram Chari, 40, a business owner from San
Francisco, told the San Francisco Chronicle he and his 6-year-old son
witnessed the Dec. 22 attack from a few feet away.

"The tiger ate her hand. It slowly proceeded to eat the rest of her arm,"
Chari said.

 Three men tried to yank the keeper from the 3-year-old female Siberian
tiger's grip, but the tiger did not let go until a zoo employee jabbed her
in the head with a long pole, he said.

"I think most of the right arm doesn't exist anymore," Chari said. "What
was left was hanging in strings."

The attack happened as the keeper fed the tiger through a slot during a
regular afternoon feeding. The victim, who has worked at the zoo since
1997, remained in San Francisco General Hospital on Sunday.

The tiger, named Tatiana, was still on display at the zoo's outdoor big cat
exhibit along with other lions and tigers. The indoor facility where the
mauling occurred, called the Lion House, has been closed since the attack.

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Laura Morin
lmorin67 at earthlink.net
www.WildAboutCats.org
Exotic Feline Conservation-Education-Rescue