This year it is a silent christmas in here. I thought it was a peaceful time but from another side of the world there sent a sad and startling news. An escaped 4-year-old tigress named Tatiana killed one and injuried two at the San Francisco Zoo on the Christmas day. As usual, sadly, Tatiana was shot dead at last.

People being killed by big cats is not uncommonly heard but every time it is still upsetting me, especially when it comes to a very treasured one, the Siberian Tiger, the largest cat on earth.

I have been taking care of Siberians and other tigers in captivity and learnt how powerful they actually are. So far there is a question shown up on my mind. That is not why would her kill people. I am wondering how did a 350-pound tiger make it to escape from an enclosure with a deep moat plus a 18-foot-tall surrounding wall. All of the details provided sound very unusual to me. The wall is supposed to be smooth so that the massive cat had to reach at least 18 feet by a single leap to make the escape. I have seen adult tigers jumping up high, but never 18 feet or even closed.

If Tatiana really made this big escape by her own, with a single leap reaching a height of at least 6 meters, it will reshape the world's present zoological knowledge about these cats.

Awaiting for more results from the SF investigation.

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Added on 2007 December 28

As new investigations claimed the tiger might have been taunted by victims before attack. Officials also said that the concrete wall surrounding the area was 12 feet 5 inches tall, where the recommended standard of a tiger exhibit is 16.4 feet high according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Every time when people killed by animals there would raise some controversy. Parents of the victim keep asking for an answer. This part of the world is a highly civilized one, so that we did not hear much blames for the tiger. The tiger was just acting like a normal tiger. The main controversy is now focusing on that "Should animals be held in captivity?" Many say wild animals should remain free in the wild. (to be continued)

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Other incidents of animal attacking people:

2007 Dec 19, India, a man put his hand into a tiger cage at a zoo who had his arm bitten off and died due to over-bleeding.

2007 Dec 3, India, a tiger that killed four people and mauled two others in the past six weeks was shot to death by police.

2007 Sept 5, China, a tiger escaped from a two-meter-tall enclosure and injuried one at a zoo in Jinan.

2007 July 14, USA, A 244-pound Sumatran tiger named Berani bit a zookeeper in the head several times in an exhibit yard at the San Antonio Zoo after the keeper forgot to close and lock a series of gates behind him. He survived.

2007 July 1, China, a lion and a tiger suffered from deep hunger bit off iron chains then injuried one at Yin Xian Shan Zhuang, Changping, Dongguan. Lion killed and tiger caught.

2007 June 4, Mexico, a tiger and a lion kept in a small cage attacked their 56-year-old caretaker when he was feeding them.

2007 May 20, China, a tiger killed its 42-year-old Thai trainer at Long Hu Yuan, Sanya, Hainan.

2007 May 10, Canada, a 32-year-old woman was mauled to death by a tiger at her fiance's exotic animal farm while three children, including her own, looked on in horror.

2007 Feb 24, USA, a 140-pound jaguar named Jorge fatally mauled a zookeeper at Denver zoo before being shot dead. Zoo officials said the keeper broke rules by opening a cage door.

2007 Feb 22, China, a tiger threatened by camera flashlight and killed a 6-year-old girl who was taking photo with it at Yuantong Zoo, Kunming, Yunnan

2006 Nov 29, USA, a 39-year-old trainer, Kenneth Peters, was bitten and held underwater several times by a 7,000-pound killer whale during a show at Shamu Stadium at SeaWorld Adventure Park. Peters escaped with a broken foot. The 17-foot-long orca is the dominant female of SeaWorld San Diego's seven killer whales. She had attacked Peters on two prior occasions, in 1993 and 1999.

2006 Dec 22, USA, Tatiana the same tiger attacked its trainer shortly after a public feeding at the San Francisco zoo

2005 Sept 10, USA, Three chimpanzees from Zoo Nebraska are shot and killed after they escape from their enclosure and could not be captured. A padlock on the cage was not completely closed after being cleaned.

2005 March 3, California, 2 chimpanzees at the Animal Ranch sanctuary attacked a woman and maimed a man before being shot.

2004 July 13, Florida, a 600-pound tiger escaped from the property of former Tarzan actor Steve Sipek was shot dead by a state wildlife officer.

2004 March 18, USA, a 340-pound gorilla named Jabari broke out of its enclosure at Dallas zoo and went on a 40-minute rampage, grabbing a toddler with its teeth and attacking three other people before being shot dead.

2003 Oct 3, Las Vegas, illusionist Roy Horn was mauled and dragged off stage by a tiger during the Siegfried and Roy show at The Mirage casino.

2003 Sept 28, USA, a 300-pound gorilla named Little Joe escaped at Boston's Franklin Park zoo, attacking a two-year-old girl and a teenage zoo employee before being tranquillised.