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Teen helping friend when tiger turned on him

SAN FRANCISCO: The last minutes of a 17-year-old boy’s life were spent trying to save his friend from a brutal tiger mauling at the San Francisco Zoo, only to have the animal turn on him, said police and family members.

Carlos Sousa Jr. and his friend’s brother desperately tried to distract the 159-kg Siberian tiger, but the big cat instead came after Sousa.

“He didn’t run. He tried to help his friend, and it was him who ended up getting it the worst,” said the teen’s father, Carlos Sousa Sr., on Thursday after meeting with police.

The heroic portrait of Sousa and a timeline of the dramatic Christmas Day attack emerged as officials revealed that the tiger’s escape from its enclosure may have been aided by walls that were well below the height recommended by the accrediting agency for the nation’s zoos.

San Francisco Zoo Director Manuel A. Mollinedo acknowledged that the wall around the animal’s pen was just 12 feet high, after previously saying it was 18 feet.

According to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the walls around a tiger exhibit should be at least 16.4 feet high.

Mr. Mollinedo said it was becoming increasingly clear the tiger leaped or climbed out, perhaps by grabbing onto a ledge.

Investigators have ruled out the theory the tiger escaped through a door behind the exhibit. “She had to have jumped,” he said. “How she was able to jump that high is amazing to me.”

Mr. Mollinedo said safety inspectors had examined the wall, built in 1940, and never raised any red flags about its size. “When the AZA came out and inspected our zoo three years ago, they never noted that as a deficiency,” he said.

“Obviously now that something’s happened, we’re going to be revisiting the actual height.”

The 4-year-old tiger, a female named Tatiana, went on the rampage near closing time on Tuesday, killing Sousa and severely injuring the two others — brothers — before it was shot to death by police.

Four officers who had already discovered Sousa’s body then arrived and found the cat sitting next to one of the bloodied brothers, police Chief Heather Fong said. The victim yelled, “Help me! Help me!” and the animal resumed its attack, she said.

The officers used their patrol car lights to distract the tiger, and it turned and began approaching them, leading all four to open fire, killing the animal, she said.

Police are still investigating how Tatiana was able to leave the enclosure. At least one expert said the wall was low enough for the tiger to leap to the top. Zoo officials said a “moat” separating the habitat from the public viewing area that measured 33 feet across contained no water, and has never had any. They did not address whether that affected the tiger’s ability to get out. “I think it could be feasible for a cat that has been taunted or angered,” said a former zoo official. “I don’t think it would ever just do it to do it.”

Police have not addressed whether the victims had teased the tiger. — AP

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Teen helping friend when tiger turned on him

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