Zoo Reviews Big Cat Enclosures For Safety

By Bob Harp

EL PASO — A tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo promptedlocalzoo officials to take a look at their own enclosures again.

In San Francisco, investigators said the three victims may have been taunting the Siberian tiger, which is much larger than the Malayan tigers at the El Paso Zoo. But officials here said they aren’t taking any chances.

Zookeepers in El Paso have isolated the tigers off the display so workers can increase the height of the rear wall for the big cats’ enclosure. The tiger in San Francisco was able to scale 12-foot wall. El Paso’s exhibit has a deep moat of water surrounding the central display to deter the tigers, plus a 16-foot wall and two-foot overhang.

Officials said it’s unlikely one of the cats could escape, but safety, they said, is a primary concern for both animals and visitors.

“We immediately came out and examined our exhibit walls and we found one spot that’s only 13-feet tall and all the rest of the walls are between 15, 18, 20 feet tall. So we made a decision to pull the tiger off exhibit until we’ve increasedthe walls to at least 17 feet,” said Steve Marshall, director of the El Paso Zoo.

Officials said that as soon as the renovations are completed, the tigers will be put back on display.