What would Singapore Zoo do if animal escapes?

Letter from Ishwar Mahtani, Today Online 19 Jan 08;

I REFER to recent reports about a tiger escaping from the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and seriously injuring two others.

I wonder if the Singapore Zoo has any procedures in place if such a thing were to happen here?

Our zoo is known for its animal-friendly features and open concept, providing a habitat that is as close to nature as possible. Animals there have much space to move about and play.

But how safe is our zoo really? Would the animals be able to escape their enclosures and attack a member of the public?

I hope what happened in the United States does not happen here. But it would be reassuring to know how our zookeepers would handle a similar situation.

Visitor safety top priority
Today Online 25 Jan 08;
Letter from Biswajit Guha
Asst Director, Zoology, Singapore Zoo

We refer to Ishwar Mahtani's letter, "What would zoo do if animal escapes?" (Jan 19).

The Singapore Zoo would like to reassure Mr Ishwar that visitor safety is of paramount importance in tandem with preserving biodiversity and in giving the animals a habitat akin to their natural environment.

For example, the zoo's tiger and lion enclosures were constructed well above international safety standards, as stipulated in the guidelines produced by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Hotwires fronting the fence act as additional protection against the possibility of the animals climbing out of the exhibits.

The water moat within the white tiger enclosure ensures the animals are safely contained within their habitat; a water-soaked tiger in 1.5m-to-1.75m-deep water is unable to obtain a firm footing on solid ground to spring up to the overhang at the visitors' viewing area.

Working with dangerous animals requires vigilance, practical experience and careful attention to detail on the part of our zookeepers.

Apart from having written protocols and standard operating procedures for dangerous animals, the zoo conducts full-scale animal escape drills several times a year to keep all our staff on their toes. These drills are enacted with varying scenarios, where response times are measured to ensure the quick recapture of the escapee.

In extreme cases, our team of five veterinarians and pool of licensed shooters will be mobilised on a need-to basis to contain the animal.

Lastly, we would like to add that all our zookeepers undergo an annual review of current safety procedures and correct practices to keep abreast of the latest developments in working with dangerous animals.

We hope these facts will assure Mr Ishwar and all other visitors that the Singapore Zoo is a safe and enjoyable place to visit.

Zoo tiger attack: Victims taunted animal, say police
Straits Times 19 Jan 08;

The three men had also taken drugs and alcohol before going to the zoo
SAN FRANCISCO - ONE of the three victims of the San Francisco Zoo tiger attack was intoxicated, police said.

He admitted standing atop a railing of the big cat enclosure and waving at the animal that would later maul them.

Mr Paul Dhaliwal, 19, told the father of Mr Carlos Sousa Jr, 17, who was killed in the tiger attack, that they yelled and waved at the tiger. But he insisted that they never threw anything into its pen to provoke the big cat, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The affidavit, which requested a search warrant for the surviving victims' cellphones and car, also cites multiple reports of a group of young men taunting animals at the zoo, the Chronicle reported on Thursday.

Toxicology results for Mr Dhaliwal showed that his blood alcohol level was 0.16 per cent after the attack - twice the legal threshold for drunkenness. Mr Dhaliwal's 24-year-old brother Kulbir's blood alcohol level was 0.04 per cent and Mr Sousa's was 0.02 per cent, according to Inspector Valerie Matthews, who prepared the affidavit.

All three also had marijuana in their systems, Insp Matthews said.

Mr Kulbir Dhaliwal told police that the three had smoked pot and each had 'a couple shots of vodka' before leaving San Jose for the zoo on Dec 25, the affidavit said.

It was on Christmas Day that the tiger escaped from its enclosure and killed Mr Sousa and mauled his friends, the Dhaliwal brothers. It was shot dead by the police.

The zoo shut down for investigations into how a 160kg tiger could have climbed out of its enclosure.

Investigators found that the wall of the tiger enclosure was 3.8m high, nearly 1.2m below the recommended minimum height for zoos in the United States.

Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo admitted that the tiger had climbed out of its open-air enclosure, perhaps by grabbing onto a ledge.

'She had to have jumped,' he said.

'How she was able to jump that high is amazing to me.'

The zoo could face possible fines by regulators and lawsuits by the victims for this lapse.

It could also be stripped of its exhibitor licence and face criminal charges, depending on the outcome of the police investigations.

'All this legal action is likely to impact the financial viability of the zoo,' said Professor Rory Little at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law.

The zoo is already facing a lawsuit filed by zookeeper Lori Komejan, who was attacked last year when she fed the same tiger involved in the deadly escape. The animal mauled her arm.

In October, Ms Komejan sued the city of San Francisco, seeking compensation for lost wages, medical expenses and emotional distress. She accused the city, which owns the zoo property, of 'housing the tigers with reckless disregard for the safety of animal handlers and members of the general public'.

ASSOCIATED PRESS