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Break-in And Tiger Attack At Calgary Zoo: Intruder In Hospital

by Yuliya Talmazan | October 5, 2009 at 12:13 pm

1182 views | 24 Recommendations | 6 comments

A 27-year-old man is in hospital with severe injuries after he and his conspirer tried to break into the tiger enclosure at the Calgary Zoo.

At 1 AM, the two men got over two high fences with barbed wire to reach the tiger's exhibit. A resident tigers attacked and mauled one of the men's arms. His conspirer helped to pull him away from the animal. He is also being treated for injuries. It is not clear what the men's motive for intruding into the tiger's enclosure was. The men were familiar with a security guard working at the Zoo, however.

A spokesperson for the zoo says the tiger has never been in this kind of situation before and reacted naturally as a carnivore.

Calgary Zoo officials say they don't know why a man scaled one of two fences around the Siberian tiger exhibit where he was attacked by one of the big cats and badly injured.

Zoo spokesman Grahame Newton says the incident, which happened in the dead of night, has left staff wondering what the man was thinking.

"I don't think any reasonable person would want to get that close to a potentially dangerous carnivore. They are behind those enclosures for good reason and most definitely I would have to wonder what was going through a person's mind to do something like that."

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Rhonda J Mangus

at 13:10 on October 5th, 2009

"I don't think any reasonable person would want to get that close to a potentially dangerous carnivore. They are behind those enclosures for good reason and most definitely I would have to wonder what was going through a person's mind to do something like that."

I don't think so either and wonder too what was going through their minds.

Hugh Askew

at 13:48 on October 5th, 2009

"I would have to wonder what was going through a person's mind to do something like that."

chemicals? alcohol?

Preston (not verified)

at 19:25 on October 5th, 2009

Darwin Award!

Barry Artiste

at 19:42 on October 5th, 2009

Guess who made it to the bottom of the food chain !

Teri (not verified)

at 21:18 on October 5th, 2009

Honestly I am on the tigers side here. Poor guy was doing what nature intended him to do ... Those guys may not deserve to loose their limbs, but that's what happens when you enter a tiger enclosure!! Enough said...