Zoo Faces Lawsuit for Tiger Attack

San Francisco zoo faces the prospect of fines and a huge lawsuit from relatives of the teenager killed by a Siberian tiger on Christmas Day, as it looked increasingly likely that the animal climbed over an enclosure wall that was lower than the US recommended minimum.

Carlos Sousa died after his throat was slashed by the 25-stone (160kg) tiger and two of his friends were severely injured after the animal escaped at about 5pm on December 25. The two survivors, Paul and Kulbir Dhaliwal, were treated for gashes to the head and arms, but were released from hospital on Saturday.

Investigators were baffled by how the tiger, named Tatiana, could have got out of the enclosure, as all the exits were securely locked. Attention is now focusing on the height of the enclosure wall, which, at just under four meters, is about a meter below the minimum recommended for US zoos.

Transcripts of police radio communications show that the first report of an attack came in at 5.08pm, by which time the zoo had been closed to new visitors but still had up to 25 people on site.

In the initial confusion, medics refused to enter the zoo until they were assured that the site had been secured. Zoo staff also told officers that the report of an escaped tiger may have come from mentally disturbed people who could be "making something up".

By 5.13pm the early doubts had been swept aside and the zoo was evacuated. Four minutes later police dispatches reported that "zoo personnel have the tiger in sight and are dealing with it".

Medics reached the dying teenager by 5.20pm, but the tiger was still loose. It was only at 5.27 - 19 minutes after receipt of the initial reports - that officers shot and killed the tiger as it was beginning to attack one of the Dhaliwals.

The zoo has announced that it plans to reopen on January 3. But the evidence of lower than recommended enclosures as the likely explanation for the tiger's escape could cost the institution its license.