S.F. Zoo Director: Tiger Pen’s Wall Was Too Low
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
SAN FRANCISCO — The director of the zoo where a teenager was killed by an escaped tiger acknowledged yesterday that the wall around the animal’s pen was just 12 1/2 feet high — well below the height recommended by the accrediting agency for the nation’s zoos. The San Francisco Zoo director, Manuel Mollinedo, also said it is becoming clear the 300-pound Siberian tiger leaped or climbed out of its open-air enclosure, perhaps by grabbing onto a ledge. “How she was able to jump that high is amazing to me.” Mr. Mollinedo said investigators have ruled out the theory the tiger escaped through a door behind the exhibit. According to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the walls around a tiger exhibit should be at least 16.4 feet high. But Mr. Mollinedo said the nearly 70-year-old wall was 12 feet, 5 inches, with what he described as a “moat” 33 feet across.
