Suspected mugger killed by tigers in zoo enclosure

Associated Press
Dec. 21, 2005 11:21 AM
BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa - A suspected mugger being chased by security guards met a grisly end after he fled into a zoo and climbed into the tiger enclosure.

His mauled body was discovered Sunday by a visitor to the zoo in this central Southern African city, prompting initial confusion as to how the man ended up in the enclosure.

Police said Wednesday the man and an accomplice had robbed a couple at knifepoint early Sunday. Security guards gave chase and one of the suspects jumped over the perimeter fence. He then apparently ran to the tiger's den in the middle of the zoo.
"What exactly happened we don't know and we won't ever know because the only person who could tell us is dead," police spokeswoman Else Gerber said.

She said there was an empty can of beer near the corpse and that the autopsy would reveal whether the man was intoxicated at the time.

Zoo officials have said the Bengal tigers will not be destroyed because they were blameless. The tigers had been fed on Saturday and so did not eat the man because they were not hungry, according to media reports.

(upi)
The Bloemfontein chapter of PETA announced today that they will file suit on the BPD patrol division for emotional cruelty to two Bengal tigers housed at the local zoo, or as the zoological society, since their lawsuit by PETA calls it, the "simulated natural habitat tiger enclosure."
Word is that the tigers were trying to enjoy a beer while watching a rerun of "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" and the cops chased a fellow into their habitat. One tiger, as he attempted to jostle for a better view of the television which had been knocked askew by the trespasser, accidently brushed up against the man with his right paw. The other big cat, thinking his buddy was being attacked by the would-be mugger, jumped over and nipped at the man's neck and upper torso in a defensive gesture. A brief melee ensued, resulting in a can of Pearl Light being knocked off the coffee table and pinned up under the man's body. BPD investigators, in a rare jump to conclusions, collected the beer can as evidence that their patrolmen had been in pursuit of a man violating the local open container while walking law.
All of this, according to attorneys for the Bengal tigers, has caused a loss of appetite, frustration and restlessness.

In a related story, the Bloemfontein Revolutionary Faction, anounced the death at the local zoo's tiger house of one of their retired suicide bombers, the only member of the Faction who has 12 successful assignments in his career. Of course, his record was self-reported, but board members of the BRF never required documentation of his activities, believing that the fellow was an inspiration to young recruits.

Do I hear banjos playing...

I suspect we'll see this story again on the annual Darwin Awards.

Glad to see the big beasts know when our herd needs to be thinned too!

"After getting hit, the guards decided to see how tough the guy was and dropped him into-"

err...I mean

"What exactly happened we don't know and we won't ever know because the only person who could tell us is dead," police spokeswoman Else Gerber said.