I have been to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle,
and the San Diego Zoo, but never, until last Saturday, the San Francisco Zoo. Mid-day,
soap bubbles from children’s toys filled the air as I waited in line to enter
the Zoo. I could hear the sounds of animals, nature, and seagulls from Ocean
Beach, playing over and over in my head like a song. The weather was quite
chilly; and I had to leave my sweater on at all times. Next! A cashier yells, as
I snapped out of my daydream and rushed to the window. I asked her I wanted to purchase
a “one adult resident ticket,” and shared my address with her (so that I could
get three dollar discount). After purchasing I set for my journey.
As I walked inside, on my right were giraffes;
this must have been the African Region I thought, and began my quest around the
zoo. All the animals seemed to be peaceful and tired. Here and there zebras, gorillas,
ostriches, the sight was beautiful. I then moved on to the Primate Discovery
Center, where there were chimps, monkeys, and lemurs. A specific detail I
remember from the chimp’s habitat was a mother playing with her baby chimp,
stroking his head while he slept on her arm, such a memorable, and adorable scene,
I wanted to cry. At this time I was a bit hungry, I stopped at the Leaping Lemur
Café, and ate a greasy dripping pizza with a small soda pop. I ate on the way
to the cat kingdom to that I would not miss a single moment. Right in the
center as you enter this kingdom is the penguins and the rhinos on the left. The
air smelled of fish and salt water, as I kept walking through to the hippos,
bobcats, and other cats. Then came the terrifying part, the lions and the
tigers. Remembering the incident that happened on December 25, 2007, I got a
little uneasy to see these cats. There have been two tiger attacks at the San
Francisco Zoo, both involving a four-year-old Siberian Tiger named Tatiana. In
the first incident, a zookeeper was bitten on the arm during a public feeding. The
second incident two people were injured and one killed, before the tiger was
fatally shot by police officers. The story goes that in 2007, Tatiana escaped
from her open-air enclosure, and attacked three visitors shortly after closing
time. After escaping from the tiger grotto, Tatiana killed one patron, Carlos
Eduardo Sousa Jr., and injured two brothers, “Paul, and Kulbir Dhaliwal. The
scene was chaotic, and 13 minutes after the initial 9-1-1 call, police officers
and fire department paramedics reached Carlos Sousa’s dead body and found his
throat slashed. When four officers and a zoo shooting team member reached the
tiger, they found her with one of the brothers (back in enclosure). They did
not shoot Tatiana immediately; just to be sure the brother would be okay. After
some distraction, the tiger turned towards the officers and was shot through
her forehead and was killed instantly. After shooting, Tatiana’s head, paws,
and tail were removed by SF Police Department forensic investigation unit. Soon
after the zoo was closed in order to make better security for the animals in
case of escape again. The zoo remained closed until January 3, 2008. Sources
told the SF Chronicle that pinecones and sticks that might have been thrown at
Tatiana had been found; later one of the brothers admitted that the three of
the men were yelling and waving at the tiger before the attack had happened. The
wall the tiger jumped was 12.5 feet tall; she also could have used her claws in
order to climb up the wall, sources are not sure of how the escape had happened.
Knowing about this story and I just around the corner of these habitats not
sure what was to come. I walked calmly around, and immediately saw electric fences
and tall glass windows making it safer for them not to escape or being thrown
things at. Later I enter the South America Region where I saw a huge anteater,
capybaras, and the greater rhea (a type of bird). The only disappointment was
that the South America Tropical Forest was closed for renovations. Going
further the Bear Country Region was next, polar bears, grizzly bears, bald
eagles, and sea lions. Entering the Outback Trail, there were kangaroo’s and
koalas. Lastly I entered my last region on the map the exploration zone. I
moved forward to the insect zoo, ewe! I felt as I walked in with giant
cockroaches right in front of me, I quickly ran out and decided to move on. Then
came the Native American animals together with the family farm. There were
horses, goats, sheep, rams, pigs, alpacas, and wild turkeys. The goats were
roaming around me leaving its droppings in site and people were able to pet
them. I felt like it was time to head home. With my last two animals (meerkats
and prairie dogs) I was ready to finish up. I had filled up my phone with
pictures and videos of these majestic creatures. The last mental thing I
noticed that throughout the park are these shh signs, telling the people to be
silent when in fact the zoo was roaring with noises of kids yelling and
bothering their moms for food, while I on the other hand was calm and quiet
enjoying the animals.
Before I departed home I went to the souvenir
shop in the main entrance. I got a small stuffed white tiger plush. After
purchasing the animal I waited for the muni train to take me home. I had such
an exhilarating day at the zoo, and cannot wait to come back.
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