New Zealand Zookeeper Killed by Tiger

[Cerus]

And amazingly the zoo isn't going to euthanize the 11 year old tiger. It is disturbing that the reason is because it wasn't anything other than natural instinct. As if it could be anything else or there needs to be a reason NOT to kill a captive and dangerous wild animal.

Anywho - my heart goes out to the family and I applaud the zoo for not doing the typical American thing and killing him.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/20/asia/n...-tiger-attack/

[Blueobelisk]

Not sure what the big deal about it not being euthanized is. The zookeeper was probably the wrong one. It's not like it was some wild pet. It's still fine for zoo attraction purposes as long as precautions are taken around it.

[adibandi]

And amazingly the zoo isn't going to euthanize the 11 year old tiger. It is disturbing that the reason is because it wasn't anything other than natural instinct. As if it could be anything else or there needs to be a reason NOT to kill a captive and dangerous wild animal.

Anywho - my heart goes out to the family and I applaud the zoo for not doing the typical American thing and killing him.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/20/asia/n...-tiger-attack/

Are you living in the woods? Why would they kill the tiger? How many people have you seen to be euthanized for killing other people? The tiger is an animal, kept in a fking cage for the amusement of others. So how about we start a topic and ask to euthanize everyone

[Cerus]

Not sure what the big deal about it not being euthanized is. The zookeeper was probably the wrong one. It's not like it was some wild pet. It's still fine for zoo attraction purposes as long as precautions are taken around it.

Methinks thou didn't read my post correctly. I'm thrilled they aren't going to kill him. There is never any justification for killing a wild, captive animal that weighs 300lbs and is lethal before their first year. But what typically happens in the US when a wild animal kills a person or heck - just walks around in their now destroyed habitat taken over by humans is the animal is killed.

99% of the time it is the humans fault and the animal was in its natural environment but that doesn't stop them from killing it. What disgusts me about this incident though is that a reason was needed to NOT kill the tiger. It's a freakin tiger not a chihuahua!

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Are you living in the woods? Why would they kill the tiger? How many people have you seen to be euthanized for killing other people? The tiger is an animal, kept in a fking cage for the amusement of others. So how about we start a topic and ask to euthanize everyone

Yikes - two people who can't read properly.

[Sketchy]

Methinks thou didn't read my post correctly. I'm thrilled they aren't going to kill him.

And amazingly the zoo isn't going to euthanize the 11 year old tiger. It is disturbing that the reason is because it wasn't anything other than natural instinct.

Your first post sounds EXACTLY like you're disappointed they aren't going to euthanize the tiger.

It's very misleading the way you've worded your thoughts.

[Grapefruitsnz]

We had a similar situation here in 2009 at a big cats park in Northland (northern part of NZ) where a zookeeper was mauled. I believe the white tiger was shot to get to the gravely injured keeper but to no avail. You don't want to see people being mauled to death by animals but that is what they're "wired" to do, regardless of whether you have a connection with the animal or are familiar with it through looking after it, they are predatory creatures that are mean't to hunt, kill and maul things. Have to take those risks seriously and conciously when you're dealing with big cats or any animal that can easily kill.

[Cerus]

Your first post sounds EXACTLY like you're disappointed they aren't going to euthanize the tiger.

It's very misleading the way you've worded your thoughts.

Sorry - my sarcasm must be off tonight. It's amazing because if it happened in America they'd be killing every tiger in every zoo. And the reason is disturbing because what other reason would a big cat have to kill a human other than natural instinct?

Perhaps they're just trying to ward off those who will inevitably and ignorantly call for the animals death. Sadly so many other animals in similar circumstances won't be spared.

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We had a similar situation here in 2009 at a big cats park in Northland (northern part of NZ) where a zookeeper was mauled. I believe the white tiger was shot to get to the gravely injured keeper but to no avail. You don't want to see people being mauled to death by animals but that is what they're "wired" to do, regardless of whether you have a connection with the animal or are familiar with it through looking after it, they are predatory creatures that are mean't to hunt, kill and maul things. Have to take those risks seriously and conciously when you're dealing with big cats or any animal that can easily kill.

Sounds very familiar but I thought that was a lion? At any rate - I do remember reading about an incident like that and wondering why the animal had to die to save an obviously already dead person. Heck even if they weren't dead - like you said - it was doing what nature designed it to do. Turns my stomach to think about it but such is the risk you take.

[Mormolyce]

3,200 tigers left in the wild.

7.3 billion humans.

One tiger kills one human. What a tragedy?

In fact, the tiger would have to kill 2.3 million humans to be proportional to killing one tiger. That's about the population of Houston.

It is disturbing that the reason is because it wasn't anything other than natural instinct.

What would be the point of euthanising it? It killed a zookeeper not a random person. That's just a risk of working with dangerous animals.

Oh, never mind, you were being sarcastic anyway.

[Basemath]

Perhaps they're just trying to ward off those who will inevitably and ignorantly call for the animals death. Sadly so many other animals in similar circumstances won't be spared.

Yup that's probably it. But you shouldn't be disgusted by their justification, IMO. That just comes off as argument for argument's sake. As in, they kill it and people would yell "WTF it was instinct." They don't kill it, because instinct, and you yell "of course dammit!"

Also I don't think it's fair to say "typical USA" when it comes to euthanizing animals for human attacks. These are almost always decisions made within the company itself. Heck, some zoo in New Zealand euthanized a gibbon and it didn't even kill or attack anyone. It simply wasn't 'adapting' well. Not to mention that their decision not to euthanize the zookeeper slayer may not be so noble. Attraction and all. Same way how Seaworld's vehement persistence to keep their killer orcas alive is anything but noble.

[nyc81991]

People keep a predator animal captive and then are surprised and outraged when one of them kills a human... And a lot of those same people that get surprised by it ironically think hunting other animals for fun is fine.

[glo]

I applaud the zoo for not doing the typical American thing and killing him.

Care to cite a source in regard to US zoos euthanizing animals on a more frequent basis after attacks compared to other countries?

[Deng]

Same thing happened in Poland a week ago....

http://news.sky.com/story/1553582/ti...losure-cleaned

[OneSent]

Sounds like occupational hazard to me.

[Deleted]

Pro tip: Feed tigers before cleaning their cages. And do the cleaning while the cages are not occupied.

[Mihalik]

[ParanoiD84]

3,200 tigers left in the wild.

7.3 billion humans.

One tiger kills one human. What a tragedy?

Pretty much, he knew the risks working with wild animals.

[Deleted]

Animals don't have ethics.

Wild animals (like tigers) are what we would consider psychopathic killers: they don't have empathy for their victims, they kill dispassionately and as a matter of course, they don't feel guilty afterwards and given half the chance, they'll do it again.

Lots of predators will happily eat another animal alive, gnawing on its leg while it screams for help. Nature sucks like that. It's full of violence, horror and pain - that's the game of life, death and survival.

Thank god we humans have more comfortable lives, and I can write this on a computer at my desk instead of crawling around covered in bugs killing other things to eat them.

Still, gotta love the zoo eh!

[Piglord]

Sorry - my sarcasm must be off tonight. It's amazing because if it happened in America they'd be killing every tiger in every zoo. And the reason is disturbing because what other reason would a big cat have to kill a human other than natural instinct?

Was this a post to discuss a zoo keeper being killed or to bash America? Making up random bullshit to help prove your point makes you look like a zealot.

[Netherspark]

3,200 tigers left in the wild.

7.3 billion humans.

One tiger kills one human. What a tragedy?

In fact, the tiger would have to kill 2.3 million humans to be proportional to killing one tiger. That's about the population of Houston.

This is actually a rare Sumatran Tiger, of which there are only 400 left. Choosing not to 'euthanize' it probably has more to do with the fact he's one of only a handful of breeding captive Sumatran tigers in the world.

Lots of predators will happily eat another animal alive, gnawing on its leg while it screams for help. Nature sucks like that. It's full of violence, horror and pain - that's the game of life, death and survival. !

Virtually all predators kill their prey before eating, specifically to stop it making noise or trying to get away. The last thing you want after catching a meal is to alert scavengers and rivals to it.

[Cerus]

Yup that's probably it. But you shouldn't be disgusted by their justification, IMO. That just comes off as argument for argument's sake. As in, they kill it and people would yell "WTF it was instinct." They don't kill it, because instinct, and you yell "of course dammit!"

Also I don't think it's fair to say "typical USA" when it comes to euthanizing animals for human attacks. These are almost always decisions made within the company itself. Heck, some zoo in New Zealand euthanized a gibbon and it didn't even kill or attack anyone. It simply wasn't 'adapting' well. Not to mention that their decision not to euthanize the zookeeper slayer may not be so noble. Attraction and all. Same way how Seaworld's vehement persistence to keep their killer orcas alive is anything but noble.

Ya have a point - one would hope it's because tigers are critically endangered and it was just being a tiger.