"There's a lesson here. It's not a good idea to drink, be high, and taunt a man-eating tiger."

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Taunting a factor in tiger attack

Experts Say Taunting Wasn't Only Factor in Deadly Tiger Attack

LISA LEFF and TERENCE CHEA
AP News

Jan 18, 2008 21:23 EST

http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/Taunting_a_factor_in_tiger_attack_01182008.html

Police believe the three people mauled by a tiger yelled and waved at the cat from atop a railing before it lunged at them, but experts say that's only a notch up from the type of taunting animals regularly endure at the nation's zoos.

One study concluded that as many as one in four zoo visitors razz the animals in some way, and large predators like tigers are a prime target.

Paul Dhaliwal, one of the two surviving victims, told the father of the teenager killed in the Christmas Day attack that while the three climbed the 3-foot-tall railing and tried to get the tiger's attention, they never threw or dangled anything into the pen, according to a search warrant affidavit filed late Thursday.

Dhaliwal, 19, was severely injured when the 250-pound Siberian tiger named Tatiana clawed its way up the wall of its enclosure, leapt out and mauled him. His brother, Kulbir, 24, was also injured, and their friend, 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr., was killed.

The tiger "may have been taunted/agitated by its eventual victims," Inspector Valerie Matthews wrote in the affidavit. Police believe "this factor contributed to the tiger escaping from its enclosure and attacking its victims," she wrote.

All three victims had marijuana in their systems, and Paul Dhaliwal's blood alcohol level was 0.16 — twice the legal limit for driving, according to the affidavit.

"Clearly there's the lesson to be learned here," said zoo spokesman Sam Singer. "The lesson is that it's not a good idea to drink, it's not a good idea to be high on dope, and it's not a good idea to taunt a man-eating tiger."

Authorities were weighing whether to seek criminal charges against the Dhaliwals, but their lawyer, Mark Geragos, said they have presented no evidence of a crime. Geragos, who has repeatedly said the brothers didn't taunt the tiger, also noted that the affidavit does not specify any possible counts.

[KitchenWitch]

1. ...

:popcorn:

You are aware, my friend, that there is a whole bandwagon of people who believe that the young men in the situation were victims, and did nothing to provoke the big bad nasssssty tiger's attack.

:hi:

[Muttocracy]

2. the police disagree... and so does one guy's dad?

Police: Tiger attack victim was drinking, admitted taunting

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/18/tiger.attack.ap/index.html

"Sousa's father, Carlos Sousa Sr., said Dhaliwal told him the three stood on a 3-foot-tall metal railing a few feet from the edge of the tiger moat."

"Police found a partial shoe print that matched Paul Dhaliwal's on top of the railing, Matthews said in the documents."

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. Oh, I definitely get it...

...and it's amazing how details surface after animals exhibit "unpredictable" behavior.

The fact that Mark Geragos is involved also makes me question whether Scott Peterson had anything to do with this.

:spray:

[AmyDeLune]

4. I don't think any of them deserved to die...*BUT*

My ability to feel sympathy towards the human victims is severely mitigated by the fact that stoned or sober, they thought it was "fun" to taunt/torment a creature that they thought was helpless.

Other than that, pass the popcorn please...:)