Zoo takes precautions to prevent escapes

One day after a Siberian tiger escaped from its cage at the San Francisco Zoo, killing one person and injuring two others, visitors at the Gladys Porter Zoo gathered around the facility’s tiger pen.

Zoo employees claimed that they were saddened by the incident in California, but confident that they were taking proper precautions to prevent an animal escape.

“This certainly will make us take a good look at all of our exhibits,” said Jerry Stones, the zoo’s facility director. “We have to remember that we’re working with wild animals here.”

Four of Gladys Porter’s six tigers were rescued from private owners in February 2007 with the help of the USDA. Previously, they were kept inside of a chain link fence by a La Feria family who, after getting divorced, could no longer care for the animals. An old toilet was used as a water container.

“Those conditions were much more unsafe than those at the zoo,” said Stones.

The zoo’s tiger pen is enclosed within a moat and 15-foot walls. “You could throw a bowling ball at the glass windows and they wouldn’t break,” he said.

Stones has seen other large cats kept in significantly worse conditions. He recalls several privately owned lions near Edinburg that were kept within a pen of weak hog wire. Large mammals can be legally bought and sold within the state of Texas.

“I’ve seen hogs kept in better places,” Stones said.

Although the zoo takes precautions to ensure safety, there have been several escapes.

In August 2006, Pita, a black spider monkey, briefly escaped from its holding area during a routine check-up.

In June 2005, four golden-handed tamarin monkeys escaped from the zoo after their cages were vandalized by local boys.

The six tigers that now roam the length of their Gladys Porter pen each weigh approximately 250 pounds and consume 15 pounds of ground beef per day.

“I can’t speculate about what happened in San Francisco,” Stones said. “But I can tell you that these animals are not pets.”