Questions raised about victims' role in tiger attack
PS Later reports refuted the belief that there was a shoe in the tiger enclosure, but there was a shoeprint on the fence, which is being compared to the victims. Also, the wall is only 12 feet 5 inches rather than the substantially higher mark originally quoted. It does seem that Tatiana leapt or climbed the wall rather than any other egress, such as through the back. One article I read questioned whether water in the moat would help. My understanding is that tigers are good swimmers, much better at that than climbing.
By the way, I came across an interesting group of statistics when looking at the Wikipedia article for tigers.
The American Zoo and Aquarium Association estimates that up to 12,000 tigers are being kept as private pets in the USA, which is significantly more than the world's entire wild population. 4000 are believed to be in captivity in Texas alone...The SPCA estimate there are now 500 lions, tigers and other big cats in private ownership just in the Houston area.
Much of this has to do with legislation in various states, many of which have no regualations on owning big cats and several require only a licence.
Also, white tigers (a popular exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo (the second oldest in the country and one of the top zoos, especially in breeding)--we go to both that one and the Louisville Zoo (which is actually larger--I didn't know that)) are controversial because you get them through inbreeding, which can lead to birth defects.
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