Killer Jaguar Named for President Bush Had Twin Named Osama

By Linda Orlando

Ashlee Pfaff, 27, died Saturday from a broken neck and other injuries after a Bolivian-born jaguar at the Denver Zoo attacked her inside an employee hallway that opened into his outdoor enclosure. Zoo officials don’t know why the door was open or what Pfaff was doing in the hallway. When emergency workers rushed to save Pfaff, Jorge began to approach them and a zoo employee shot and killed the big cat.

Margot Ugarteche, a veterinarian at the Santa Cruz Municipal Zoo of South American Fauna in Bolivia, said that her facility had sent Jorge to the Denver Zoo. She said that Jorge—Spanish for George—had been named after President George Bush. Jorge was well-behaved when he was younger, but his twin brother at the Santa Cruz zoo had been so mean that his handlers had named him Osama.

"Osama was always the more dominant of the two," Ugarteche said. "He was always rough with Jorge. That was the relationship we saw between them." When asked about why Osama’s brother would have attacked a handler, Ugarteche had no idea. "Jorge wasn’t bad, really," she said. "I don’t know what could have happened. Perhaps because he was so well-behaved, the trainer thought she could trust him. But you never know with wild animals."

According to zoo officials, Pfaff had graduated from New Mexico State University in 2020 with a biology degree, and began working at the zoo in 2005. She had worked with veteran keepers and regularly attended safety trainings and meetings for the jaguar exhibit, according to officials. Zoo spokeswoman Ana Bowie said that Pfaff was "a great zookeeper, she was dedicated to this institution, dedicated to her animals." Bowie said that an investigation following the attack found no faulty doors, locks, or gates.

Denver Zoo policy prohibits keepers and big cats from being together in an enclosure, so Jorge should have been securely locked in his enclosure before the door was opened to the outdoor exhibit. "We don’t know if she was going in, and we never will," Bowie said. "Why that door was open and what she was doing, we do not know."

Pfaff’s family told reporters that they want to know what happened, but they are certain that the ongoing investigation by the Denver police working in cooperation with the zoo officials will help them understand what led to Ashlee being attacked. They issued a statement saying that they are "mourning her sudden and tragic death. Ashlee was a beautiful person, and was loved by many," the statement said.

Lynn Kramer, a veterinarian in charge of the biological programs at the Denver Zoo, said that employees have drills at least four times a year to learn how to respond to the escape of an animal that is capable of killing a human. He said that within minutes of Pfaff’s attack, 4 of the 16 employees trained with firearms responded. Kramer added that as officials review and investigate the incident, policies about zoo employees working alone may be changed.

The U.S. Agriculture Department, which inspects zoos, also plans to investigate, according to a spokesman.