The San Francisco Zoo is at risk of being dubbed probably the most harmful in America following a string of security incidents – together with a zookeeper being chased by a grizzly bear simply final 12 months.
An investigation by the San Francisco Chronicle has uncovered a number of critical incidents the place worker security and animal welfare has been compromised on the city-owned 100-acre plot within the southwest nook of the town.
The zoo, which receives $4 million a 12 months in taxpayer cash, first hit headlines over a decade in the past when a visitor was tragically killed by an escaped tiger on Christmas Day in 2007. This was adopted by the heartbreaking loss of life of a child gorilla in 2014.
New surveillance footage has now revealed the second a zookeeper narrowly escaped loss of life when he was chased round an enclosure by a grizzly bear final could.
There was additionally the current undisclosed loss of life of a younger penguin who was fatally struck by a ‘guillotine’ door – including to the toll on morale on the zoo.
A grizzly bear chase. A lifeless penguin. Behind the scenes, the S.F. Zoo is in turmoil over security.
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The state of affairs has led many staff to resign or say they’ve ‘misplaced religion within the administration’ of the 95-year-old establishment.
There was a 19 p.c lower within the variety of zookeepers and different union employees between 2019 and late 2023, in keeping with the report.
The regarding development has left the remaining zookeepers – who’re skilled to look after greater than 2,000 animals – with the daunting activity of overseeing much more reveals, elevating vital public security and employee security considerations.
However the zoo’s board has dismissed the current incidents as ‘predicated on outdated or just unfaithful data’ and ‘uniformly objectionable and baseless.’
Video footage that captured the terrifying incident the place a keeper narrowly escaped a grizzly bear’s grasp final Might had remained unreported within the media till now.
The zookeeper discovered himself fleeing from an enormous 500-pound grizzly bear named Kiona after an oversight in securing her den allowed her to roam freely.
The keeper dashed via gates and boundaries to security, whereas colleagues managed to lure Kiona away from the general public areas.
The employees who got here to the keeper’s help discovered him in a panic and the grizzly roaming freely, then-assistant curator of the zoo’s carnivores division, Travis Shields, informed the Chronicle.
Shields, who was away throughout that specific second however briefed by his workers after, ultimately resigned final July after ‘higher administration’s disregard of keepers’ considerations,’ the outlet reported.
‘Finally one thing extra extreme goes to occur sooner or later in the event that they proceed on the identical path,’ Shields stated.
Luckily, no accidents had been reported, however this alarming incident, together with different current security relapses, has stirred unrest amongst zoo employees and prompted resignations.
Following the bear incident, modifications had been made to the enclosure – together with portray the partitions a lighter colour and spray-painting new ‘Open’ and ‘Closed’ indicators to reinforce visibility for keepers, serving to them decide if the door is securely closed.
New latches had been additionally put in to make sure that keepers shut the den doorways earlier than locking them.
In 2007, Carlos Sousa Jr, 17, was killed and two brothers badly mauled after a 300lb Siberian tiger escaped from its enclosure and went on a rampage.
Within the recording, one of many injured males pleaded for assist and requested why it was taking so lengthy to come back, shouting: ‘My brother’s about to die out right here!’
A lawyer for Paul, 19, and Kulbir Dhaliwal, 23, stated on the time that assist didn’t arrive for greater than half-hour.
Police had warned that the escaped tiger which savaged three zoo guests could have been let loose of its enclosure intentionally.
To achieve the general public space, the 350lb feminine would have needed to leap an 18ft huge moat and scale a 20ft wall at San Francisco Zoo.
However the extra sinister risk is that the Siberian tiger, which chewed off a zookeeper’s arm throughout a public feeding session, may need been freed via felony malice.
The emergency dispatcher informed the brother that paramedics can’t come to his help till they had been positive they weren’t at risk.
‘We have now to verify the paramedics don’t get chewed out, as a result of if the paramedics get harm then no person’s going that will help you,’ they reportedly stated.
The sufferer shouted: ‘My brother’s about to die out right here!’
The dispatcher requested him to relax however is informed: ‘Are you able to fly a helicopter out right here? As a result of I don’t see a f***ing ambulance.’
The recordings reveal preliminary disbelief amongst zoo employees concerning the tiger’s escape. Additionally they element how police situated after which shot the beast, named Tatiana.
They begin at 5:05pm when a zoo employee referred to as emergency providers to report the frantic brothers begging for assist.
A girl within the background is heard saying: ‘I don’t know if they’re on medicine or not. They’re screaming about an animal – that has attacked them and there isn’t an animal out … He’s saying he acquired attacked by a lion.’
The zoo employee stated: ‘That’s nearly not possible.’
At 5:10pm, the zoo employee discovered an animal was unfastened. ‘We have now a Code 1. They are saying they’ve a tiger out,’ he informed the telephone dispatcher and an evacuation started.
About 10 minutes later, a paramedic or a zoo worker reported that Mr Sousa, who was attacked simply outdoors the tiger pen, was critically harm. ‘This particular person wants assist now,’ he stated.
After mauling Sousa the beast crept in the direction of the zoo café. One of many Dhaliwal brothers – it’s not clear which – rang for assist from outdoors the café, saying: ‘It’s a matter of life and loss of life.’
It’s then that he pled for paramedics to get there shortly.
At 5:27pm a policeman shouted into his radio: ‘On the café, now we have the tiger. We have now the tiger attacking the sufferer.’
Lower than a minute later, a name came visiting the radio to cease capturing. ‘We have now the cat. We shot the cat,’ an officer stated. ‘The sufferer is being attended to.’
Years later, tensions are nonetheless simmering between the management on the zoo and its frontline staff, in keeping with the Chronicle’s report.
Over fifteen present and former staff have voiced complaints over administration’s dealing with of animal welfare and security protocols.
Three former workers informed the Chronicle they left the zoo over arguments with greater ups over animal welfare requirements.
Melissa Lory, a zookeeper from 2019 to 2021; Trisha Cassianni, a keeper from 2007 to 2021; and Dayna Sherwood, a keeper from 2006 to 2018, every described situations the place animals suffered as a consequence of selections made by administration about medical care or housing.
‘I knew nothing was going to vary so far as my welfare considerations I had for the animals I used to be liable for,’ Lory, a former orangutan keeper, informed the outlet. ‘I knew it was going to proceed getting worse.’
She stated the primates lived in an enclosure with out entry to a yard.
Cassianni, who additionally labored with the orangutans, agreed and referred to as the zoo as ‘dysfunctional.’
‘It simply didn’t seem to be the zoo cared sufficient concerning the animals,’ she added.
One other one of many 15 workers informed the outlet that they had introduced up considerations about grizzly bear safety to administration years previous to the the Might 2023 incident.
‘I simply felt intensely, however ambiguously, unsafe,’ the particular person stated in an e mail.
Edward Poole, a board member and chair emeritus of the San Francisco Zoological Society, the nonprofit group overseeing the zoo’s operations, dismissed the protection considerations as unfounded, claiming they had been primarily based on outdated or inaccurate data.
He referred to as them ‘predicated on outdated or just unfaithful data’ and had been ‘uniformly objectionable and baseless.’
In an e mail response to the Chronicle, he emphasised that the grizzly bear incident posed no risk to guests and highlighted {that a} subsequent inspection by the US Division of Agriculture confirmed the zoo’s compliance with its licensing necessities.
He defined that the state of affairs arose when a zookeeper entered the grizzly bear’s habitat space beneath the assumption that the bear was confined to a different part and claimed the problem was resolved promptly because of the zoo’s unwavering dedication to the welfare of each its employees and animals beneath its care.
‘One among our zookeepers entered the grizzly bear’s habitat space at a time when it was believed that the bear was restricted to a different a part of its containment space,’ he stated.
‘As a result of plenty of security measures employed, the state of affairs was shortly resolved. … This incident underscores our steadfast dedication to making sure the welfare of each our employees and the animals in our care,’ he added.
This article by Nooa Halff was first revealed by The Each day Mail on 20 April 2024. Lead Picture: The San Francisco Zoo has probably earned the title of ‘America’s most harmful zoo’ following a string of current incidents together with a zookeeper being chased by freed grizzly bear and a customer getting mauled to loss of life by an escaped tiger.
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