Christmas Tiger Attack at the San Francisco Zoo

                                                  Yesterday, Christmas Day, after my kids finished opening presents, we went to the San Francisco Zoo. A clear, cool, gorgeous day; kind of quiet, many of the animals dozed in the bright sunshine. My daughter tested out her new digital camera, taking photos of the animals. We stopped at the Terrace Cafe for a bathroom break, then lingered in front of the Siberian Tigers, one lazing, one pacing. We talked about the rarity of Siberians, wondered why the one in the back seemed so restless (bored, perhaps? waiting for its 2 pm feeding?). We admired these magnificent animals; my daughter took the pictures you see here. And we left on the early side, to get back to Christmas presents and Christmas dinner.

The ham was still cooking when we heard the news bulletin; one of those SIberians, Tatiana, had somehow escaped, likely jumping the moat that separates observers from the animals, and killed a guy standing right about where we had been. The tiger then moved on to the Terrace Cafe, injuring two other zoo goers, before being killed by police.

We watched the news for the rest of the evening. Chilled by the tragic deaths--the person's and the tiger's, and stunned by the ignorance of the local newscasters. They're local, you think they might have been to the zoo at some point. They rambled on about the Terrace Cafe, with spacious indoor seating and hamburgers and ice cream (Uh, the terrace cafe has outdoor seating and only a few indoor seats and, while it does have burgers, is known for its Mexican food.) They complained that

no one could figure out how to turn on the lights, leaving police to walk the zoo in the dark. (Uh, there is basically no outdoor lighting at the zoo; on zoo night we bring flashlights.) They talked about the possibility of other tigers roaming the dark zoo. (We figured the zookeepers know how many tigers they have, and if they say there is one dead and the rest accounted for in their cages, there's unlikely to be another one around.) They talked about the water-filled moat. (The moat hasn't had water in it in decades, at least.)

This morning my kids grabbed for the papers; like a lot of people, they're trying to understand what happened. And they're sad. So am I; I'm sad for the people attacked, for Tatiana (the tiger), and for the Zoo I've loved since I was eight years old, that's traditionally open 365 days a year, even on Christmas. It's closed today. I wonder what else will change.