A Slender-horned Gazelle has been born at Naples Zoo: Naples Zoo announces birth of endangered slender-horned gazelle
Update: Eko the tiger has sadly passed away.
Naples Zoo tiger shot & killed after attacking man who stuck arm in enclosure
Man hospitalized after being attacked by a tiger at Naples Zoo, tiger dies after being shot
This is beyond awful. The blame lies on roadside zoos and private owners who take photos of them playing with their adult big cats and make it look like something people can do, along with the cleaning company for not supervising and not ensuring their employees know they can't interact with the animals, especially the deadly ones. This isn't Naples Zoo's fault.
Just heard about this. Absolutely horrible!!! Stupidity knows no bounds. I hope that the zoo saved reproductive samples from Eko's body to deep freeze in liquid nitrogen for possible future AI so he can posthumously contribute his genes to the Malayan Tiger SSP. This not only worries me because of what happened but also what can happen at other numerous AZA and ZAA facilities. Jacksonville's Land of the Tiger exhibit has barriers only like 3.5 feet tall and only about 5 feet from both Sumatran and Malayan Tiger exhibits. I hate to think that because of people's stupidity that barriers would have to be raised higher or using only glass, but if it means saving a critically endangered species because certain individuals endanger their life due to their actions then I'm all for it. This is worse than the Harambe incident.Update: Eko the tiger has sadly passed away.
Naples Zoo tiger shot & killed after attacking man who stuck arm in enclosure
Man hospitalized after being attacked by a tiger at Naples Zoo, tiger dies after being shot
I just hope that any potential protective barriers put up to prevent further stupidity are at least tastefully designed. The lengths that San Francisco went to prevent another Tatiana incident were very much overkill, as not only did they increase the height of the moat wall by adding glass (acceptable), they ADDED HOTWIRE TO THE LIONS/TIGER'S EDGE OF THE MOAT, MAKING AN ALREADY SMALL HABITAT EVEN SMALLER.As someone who works in the industry, I will say that these knee jerk reactions, especially by those that otherwise support zoos, do not help anyone. It is absolutely a tragedy, and it absolutely could have been prevented. That said, from what I have seen and read, and from what I know by working in the industry, there was no other outcome for this situation. It does appear as though the officer did try to distract the tiger before resorting the lethal force. Local emergency response teams work closely with accredited facilities and are trained on how to respond to emergencies in zoological settings. The human life will always come first in these situations, and most dangerous animals (large predators, large primates, elephants, rhinos, hippos, even male takin and zebra and other species ) are listed as shoot to kill in emergency protocols. Does this fact make it any less tragic that we lost a critically endangered animal as result of a person’s lack of common sense? Absolutely not. Does it mean that we should not learn from this event and reevaluate the training of the emergency response teams for zoological facilities and the after hour emergency protocols for zoological facilities? Absolutely not. But it doesn’t mean that those having to make those calls in these high stress, high emotion situations do not do what they believe is best in the moment given the protocols in place.
I’m obviously not supporting him but considering he is seriously injured and from what I’ve read he has a difficult recovery ahead of him, I think that is more than enough of a punishment.People like him, as well as the people in the Harambe incident (including the cops) should be given massive punishments.
Maybe, maybe. This will probably affect him for the rest of his life, won’t it? I guess that’s karma for you.While this is a very very tragic incident, I don’t blame the cops for this. It was nearly 100% that *uninteligent* (to put it lightly) man’s fault. It’s the cops’ duty to protect all citizens, whether they are good people or bad. Like it has been stated, the man’s life will be seen as more important than the tiger in this situation. I read that they did have a tranquilizer gun but didn’t use it because they knew it would take too long to set in and they didn’t want to risk the man’s life. My heart goes out to Eko’s keepers and I hope he rests in peace. The good thing is he has a number of close relatives in the population that can continue his family’s genes.
I’m obviously not supporting him but considering he is seriously injured and from what I’ve read he has a difficult recovery ahead of him, I think that is more than enough of a punishment.