tiger shot and killed in local zoo

[SnakeCollector]

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/loca...?storyid=38055
Tampa, Florida — A Sumatran tiger was shot and killed by the director of the Lowry Park Zoo Tuesday evening after the rare feline escaped from a night house cage while some visitors were still in the park.

The tiger, named "Enshala," escaped into an unsecured construction area and eluded being tranquilized by jumping atop a 7 foot wall overlooking the public area, the zoo reported. The director believed he had no choice but to destroy the tiger.

The escape was blamed on zoo keeper error, the zoo said.

The tiger is very rare; there are fewer than 1,000 remaining in the wild, the zoo said.
she was shot 4 times with a 12 gauge shotgun

[SnakeCollector]

she was 14 years old

[Aaron_NSBM]

thats sad..they could have done more some how!

[~Riley~]

they should of done more, thats pretty bad especialy since there are so few left.

[gjmccag]

i personally think that the zoo wanted to keep this tiger, allthough it is to bad that it had to be destroyed. what zoo would want to destroy a rare species? they probably had no choice.

[zsanorah]

Ha! People say often that they have no choice in many matters, I belive that it is a weak phrase over used as an excuse for either lack of courage and strength or poor thinking and judgement. So dear friends, I hardly can accept that they had no choice in the matter, but simply were too unable to think of any other course of action... Ps if i sound rather harsh please excuse me, been one heck of a night and not in a good way.

[slackin]

Less than 1,000 Sumatran Tigers on the planet, billions of humans. We could stand to lose a few. Lol. They could have done something more besides killing it.

[Alika]

It's easy enough to say that they should have done something more. It's a different thing when the weight of the decision rests on your shoulders, as does the full responsibility for the outcome. What makes it harder is having to make such a decision in a split second.

My heart goes out to the zoo for their loss, and particularly to the director and keeper staff who are really under heavy fire right now.

[VoodooChile]

Aww thats sad...
Not having been there, it seems to me like if they shot it with a 12ga 4 times, they could have hit it with a tranq dart ONCE. Although what do I know? If they felt it was necessary, then I would be willing to bet it was.

[SnakeCollector]

they added more and if you wanna see pics go to the link
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/loca...?storyid=38055
Tampa, Florida- A Sumatran tiger at the Lowry Park Zoo was shot and killed Tuesday evening after the rare feline escaped from a night house cage while some visitors were still in the park.

Officials at the Lowry Park Zoo say a latch on the holding cell was left unlocked, allowing a tiger named Enshala to slip through and head toward a construction area. This afternoon, they're planing to talk more about the incident.

The zoo's veterinarian shot a tranquilizer dart at the animal, but the female tiger became agitated and lurched at him and a seven-foot wall that separates the area from the public. So the vet fired a round from a 12-gauge shotgun, then three more shots when she continued moving.

The escape was blamed on zoo keeper error, the zoo said.

Enshala was born at the zoo 14 years ago. She was a Sumatran tiger, which is the smallest of the tiger subspecies and is only found in the wild on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. There are fewer than 500 left in the wild.

[gjmccag]

yeah i figured that there was no other choice. Why would a zoo want to lose such a rare species that brought them in revenue? thats to bad though.

[SnakeCollector]

i think they should have shot it with another tranq.

[MAG_Pythons]

tranqs take a while to kick in, it wouldn't have stopped a tiger mid - leap ... shame tho