SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Police probing the deadly escape of a tiger from its enclosure at San Francisco Zoo said Wednesday they would investigate the possibility that the animal may have been freed deliberately.
San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong told a news conference that the zoo was being treated as a crime scene until investigators were able to pin down exactly how the tiger had managed to get out.
Tatiana, a 300-pound (136-kilogram) Siberian tiger, was shot dead by police officers on Christmas Day after it mauled a male visitor to death and seriously injured two other men during its rampage.
The attack occurred one year after the same animal had savaged a zookeeper during a public feeding session at the facility.
Authorities admit to being baffled at how the tiger escaped from its exhibit, a "grotto" separated from the public area by a moat 18 feet (5.5-meters) wide and 20 feet (6.1-meters) deep and a wall taller than 20 feet.
"Because we're not certain whether this incident occurred as a result of human action or whether this was an incident where the animal was able to get out of the grotto, we have deemed the site a crime scene," Fong said.
"We want to ensure that we gather all evidence so in the event there's any human involvement that we can have the evidence to determine that."
Fong said officers were gathering physical evidence from various locations within the zoo and were also taking statements from witnesses.
"At the conclusion of that investigation, we will be able to provide a preliminary assessment to specifically what may have resulted in the tiger getting out of the grotto area," she said.
Zoo animal care director Robert Jenkins said the zoo remained closed and the big cat enclosure would be off limits until officials had determined how the tiger had escaped.
"We're still not too clear to exactly what transpired," he said. "For that reason I made the decision to keep the zoo closed today.
"I anticipate hopefully we'll be able to open the zoo tomorrow, but if we do open the zoo, the Lion House will be off exhibit and not open to the public until we get a better understanding of what actually happened yesterday."
Jenkins said earlier that the tiger appeared to have "climbed or otherwise leapt out of the exhibit."
Police combed the 125-acre zoo throughout the night to check the tiger had not claimed any more victims or that any other animals had escaped, Fong said. None were found.
Information about the dead man has not been released while two survivors were said to be in stable condition in San Francisco General Hospital on Wednesday after several hours of surgery.
Jenkins meanwhile said there had been no question of putting the tiger down following last year's attack on a zookeeper.
"There was never consideration to putting Tatiana down," he said. "The tiger was acting normal like a tiger does.
"We have since modified the front holding area where the public has the viewing of those animals, so it's a much safer area."
The tiger reached its paws through a set of bars and tore into zoo keeper Lori Komejan's arm during an afternoon feeding in December 2006.
Dozens of zoo visitors were watching the feeding. The Lion House was closed to the public because of that incident and only re-opened three months ago.
The California Division of Occupation Safety and Health said the zoo was responsible for the incident because Komejan was inadequately trained for the task and the cages were set up in a manner that facilitated the attack.
Jack Hanna, an animal expert and director at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, told CNN zoo personnel must always be mindful of the danger that the animals pose.
"We tell our folks a wild animal is like a loaded gun," he said. "It can go off at any time."
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