Think of it as evolution in action...

I suspected this all along.

Too bad a beautiful animal had to die because of it.

And who is the animal? If this was a person instead of the tiger would the courts see this in a different light? Why reward bad behavior?

So, it would be ok than if it had beed a 10 yr old growling at the tiger or taunting. you would still blame the person. The frigging tiger got out no excuses. Zoo to blame! You people are morons.

Every time there is a gator attack in Florida on some drunk swimming in a murky canal, some tool from the media has to ask, "Why did the alligator attack yet another?" It's a gator you moron! This whole tiger agitation theory the zoo is no doubt sinking their teeth into.....who the hell cares? Is the idea to have a wall only high enough to keep the calm tigers in, but to let the really agitated ones jump out? I don't care if these kids smoked a whole truck load of reefer, mooned the tiger, and then threw rocks at it. The heart of this matter is, the tiger got out! Shame on you morons.

You blame this victims for taunting the tiger at the zoo? You don't think little kids are up there all day waving at and yelling at the tigers, and every other animal? It is a zoo!

You go to the zoo thinking the animals are properly caged. You don't go there worrying about "upsetting the animals". How does this shift blame to the victims? The story is moronic. The zoo is 100% to blame, upset tiger or not.

It is terrible that this story seems to be trying to blame the victims for the tiger escaping and killing them. I wonder how the author would feel if it was their four year old kid at the zoo knocking on the animal cages and "taunting" the animals was killed.

So let's see here...
The wall has held tigers in for how long?
Quite some time, I would imagine.

Now you get two stoned teenagers and a stoned adult, all of which have been drinking... who climb on a railing surrounding an enclosure with a large animal who is basically bred to be a predator, and is in captivity, and we are trying to blame the Zoo? I don't think so.

Both surviving "kids" (yes, even the 24 year old is a "kid"... he should have known better!) should have the book thrown at them. You have marijuana possession with intent to distribute, open container, drunk in public, furnishing alcohol to a minor, and possible accessory to manslaughter (their actions directly led to their friend's death)...

There are several contributing factors here, yes... and the Zoo can't be completely absolved... but yet thousands of people have gone to that zoo without something like this happening...

Wasn't there also something about a slingshot?

I agree with Drew - this pen has held the tiger for a long time. Something very much out of the norm happened to piss it off. Throwing something into the pen wouldn't do it - but a hit from a slingshot and then being taunted would probably anger it enough to make the leap.

From what I understand this pen is over 40 years old. Seemed to work fine to me.

It obvious some people want to be able to act like idiots and a-holes and not see any consequences from it.

"It obvious some people want to be able to act like idiots and a-holes and not see any consequences from it.

But isn't that the whole thrust of society these days? No matter how stupid you are, no matter how far you've abandoned common sense, no matter how many rules you ignore, no matter how many simple safety precautions you totally toss out the window - it's never supposed to be YOUR fault you get hurt.

Man, you just gotta wonder when folks will realize that they've got to be responsible for their own safety, and not expect all life's corners to be padded so they don't have boo-boos and get owies.

Zoo versus Christmas Day thugs:
Your witness:

Is it true that your tiger allegedly jumped out of his enclosure and roamed freely in public areas where paying patrons were gathered?

(zoo):

Though this is true, we must look at this from the tiger's point of view. These victims, well, thugs in every sense of the word, were not only out on Christmas Day to have a good time, but had the nerve to try to bring their deviant behavior to our good and wholesome zoo. It has been found that not only were they drinking beer and whooping it up, but they were smoking pot! Oh, the humanity. And as if all this weren't enough to send them immediately to hell as they deserved, they were doing this......

IN FRONT OF OUR BELOVED TIGER! Well of course this is unacceptable. I would hope in such a circumstance that our tiger would have the brains, the strength, and the pure determination required to free himself from his bounds and teach these sadistic, partying, deviate young men the lesson that they surely deserved. It is our brave and moral tiger that had his life senselessly ended prematurely that deserves our sympathies here. This is the true tragedy. He was only fighting the good fight and his crime fighting efforts should be applauded.

I rest my case.

There is always a reason for everything. Why were you born? Why does anyone die young? It is much easier to blame the victim because it makes YOU feel less vulnerable. Since you, you never taunt animals, the tiger would NEVER attack you. You are safe. For a well-behaved person like you, even a 10-ft wall would have sufficed to keep the tiger caged. Right? Dream on - you wont really know when it will be YOUR fault, will you?

Just to make sure you'all get it, the proceeding was sarcasm.

They got what they deserved as far as I am concerned! The only one that got the short end of the stick was the innocent cat. May they rott in hell!