Brothers Mauled by Zoo Tiger File Claim: But was Lesson Learned?

By Anastacia Mott Austin

The only surprise in the brothers vs. zoo tiger case is why it took them this long to file a lawsuit.

Actually, brothers Kulbir and Amritpal "Paul" Dhaliwal have filed an initial claim against the city of San Francisco and its zoo. If the city does not offer a settlement to the brothers, then they will likely proceed to filing a lawsuit.

The Dhaliwal brothers and their friend, 17-year-old Carlos Sousa, were visiting the San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day in 2007 when they were attacked by one of the tigers, Tatiana.

Tatiana somehow managed to leap out of the tiger enclosure to attack the three young men. Sousa was killed in the attack, and both brothers were seriously mauled.

The brothers claim, through their attorney, celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, that they suffered "serious physical and emotional injuries" during the attack, and that zoo employees were slow to respond to their pleas for help.

According to the Dhaliwal’s account, Tatiana leaped over the enclosure fence and attacked Sousa. When the brothers tried to help their friend, the tiger began attacking them. They say they fled to a nearby zoo café, where they were told they couldn’t come in because the zoo was closing. There is some verified documentation showing that zoo employees at first did not believe the brothers that a tiger was loose.

Then Tatiana apparently began attacking Kulbir and Paul again, and San Francisco police officers were called in. Medical personnel at first refused to enter the zoo grounds until they could be reassured that the tiger was not still at large.

When officers did enter the zoo, they found the tiger attacking one of the brothers, and shot and killed the 300-pound tiger Tatiana.

Sousa was declared dead at a local hospital, and the brothers were treated for serious bite wounds.

In the days and weeks following the attack, zoo officials repeatedly insisted that Tatiana could not have escaped the enclosure on her own, and must have somehow had help to leap over the fence. Once the enclosure fence was examined by experts, however, it was determined that it was over four feet short of federal regulations.

The tiger exhibit was temporarily closed and the zoo went to work making modifications to the enclosure, including a higher outside fence and a second, inner electrified fence.

While the San Francisco Zoo conducted its own investigation into the attacks, representatives from the zoo claimed to the media that the only way a tiger would have leaped from its enclosure is if it had been seriously provoked.

The father of victim Carlos Sousa revealed to reporters that Paul had told him the three had stood atop the visitor fence and yelled and waved at the tigers. All three had marijuana and alcohol in their systems as well.

Commentators on the blogosphere are virtually unanimous in their criticism of the three young men, saying they do not deserve any compensation for their injuries if they indeed had taunted Tatiana.

But does yelling and waving at the tiger mean that Sousa deserved what he got? Or the brothers, for that matter? Being obnoxious, drunk, and high at the zoo is surely an irritation for other zoo visitors (not to mention illegal), and probably not pleasant for the animals.

But is being an irksome, immature drunk person at the zoo a justification for an animal leaping out of its cage and killing said hoodlum?

Zoo officials have already admitted that the tiger enclosure fence was too short for federal standards. And the brothers have now denied doing anything to provoke the tiger. In fact, the Dhaliwals claim that zoo representatives conducted a "smear campaign" against them.

There is no surveillance camera at the tiger exhibit, and cell phone cameras obtained from the young men have not revealed any incriminating evidence. So we will never know the full story of what happened on that day.

One would hope, regardless of the outcome, that at least these two young men will have learned their lesson, admittedly the hard way, that wild animals kept in zoos are still wild, and their behavior is unpredictable.

They have been given a second chance, something that Carlos Sousa and Tatiana the tiger will now never have.