Tammy Bruce: Reminder: On KABC Today, Thursday and Friday

Reminder: On KABC Today, Thursday and Friday

Filling in for Larry Elder from 3-6pm PT (6-9pm ET). In Los Angeles it's at 790 on the AM dial. everywhere else, you can pick up the free web stream at KABC's site.

Tatiana, killed unnecessarily.

Among all the other news of the day, we will, btw, absolutely be talking about the tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo. Not only should they not have killed the tiger, isn't it time to close zoos down as public entertainment arenas? I certainly think so.

Hope to see you there.

UPDATE ON TIGER SITUATION:

SF Chronicle: Tiger-mauling probe looks at whether victim dangled leg

Posted by Tammy · December 26, 2007 01:05 PM · Permalink
Radio

Comments

I agree with you on parts of this, Tammy. It is a shame to kill such a beautiful and endangered animal, although they always do that in these cases because it would be bad PR for the zoo to feature "the tiger that killed that guy."

I am conflicted about closing zoos because I really enjoyed our zoo in Alexandria as a child, and it helped to influence my decision to study the life sciences. I also think you are going to have a hard time making that argument to Mr. Elder’s libertarian audience.

Posted by: ashleymatt at December 26, 2007 01:52 PM

Tigers are not big furry cats that will simply jump on a human's lap and hope to be petted. They are predators...plain and simple. Therefore, this amazing creature was simply doing only what he was born to do....be free and find some food. Frankly, I am against the caging of animals. It is inhumane and serves little purpose other than to degrade animals who have the right to roam freely. It is a shame that the tables cannot be turned and that a few humans could show up on display in the same manner that this fellow mammals are.
Additionally, whenever a wild animal has been found to have injured or killed a human, our reaction as a society is to go find them and kill them. It's highly irritating. Bears, for example, are hunted in Maryland on an annual basis to "prevent human attacks". Yet, not one bear attack has been recorded in the history of Maryland. I say, you want to bond with nature, or condone urban sprawl, you should take your chances. The bears were here first. Let them be. Animals that are not even indigenous to our country should not even be on our soil. They should be able to roam freely in their natural habitat. However, humans are idiots. (By and large) We're not going to change over night, nor are we going to realize that just because we have the brain capacity and the tools to rip up the land, kill for pleasure, and condone horrible acts upon other living beings doesn't mean that we should. If you performed the same acts of treatment on most animals that live in confined spaces, (i.e. zoos, factory farms) on humans, it would be a great violation of the Geneva Convention. However, they're just animals, they can't speak, therefore who gives a rat's butt?? It's freakin' ignorant and disappointing!
*hops down from soapbox*

Posted by: ltlme at December 26, 2007 02:40 PM

I'm with you all the way Tammy. Why we still insist on turning God's laws of nature upside down is beyond me.

I don't even think it's a natural state of being for humans to live in crowded cities. I can't imagine what being encompassed by that energy must do to an animal.

Posted by: Tink at December 26, 2007 03:26 PM

The killing of this tiger was unneccesary. I agree with you Tammy. The entire story upsets me greatly..

I am listening to KABC now..great stream..

Posted by: Trinity at December 26, 2007 04:22 PM

I have to totally disagree with you on this one Tammy. This tiger had already attacked another human before. Why was this tiger still in the zoo??

It was obvious she was a danger to humans. People do forget that wild felines are not the same as domesticated cats. So people's guard tends to be lowered in these surroundings. But if any animal starts attacking people, they better kill it, and quick. This animal was in attack mode. How can you not kill it? I'm surprised only 3 people were attacked.

I think there's great educational value in going to zoos. Granted I think it should be reserved for children. I leared a lot about exotic creatures. I also learned to keep a healthy distance too.

Posted by: SlimFemme at December 26, 2007 06:28 PM

Tammy is right. Killing this beautiful animal was a travesty.
What would you do if you were caged against your will and had a chance at freedom? Wouldn't you fight your way out if someone tried to foil your escape?? This animal didn't kill for fun, it felt threatened and did what wild animals will do. Would you fault a female dog aggressively protecting its litter? Of course not, it is acting on instinct.
Animals that require miles of habitat should not be put in living museums. Art museums don't place artists in a cage, painting. You see their work framed instead, with a nice plaque beside it. Do the same with animals. Play footage of animals on life-size video screens - with a nice write-up beside it.

Posted by: helpunderdog at December 26, 2007 08:14 PM

Zoos are up for debate. But as for shooting the tiger, I think you're completely wrong, Tammy. A choice between animal and human life is no choice at all. To what Slimfemme said, I'd add that tranquilizers are not typically carried by your typical road patrol cops who the first on scene and do not take effect immediately. When people are in danger, the police have to act in seconds to eliminate the danger, period. Exactly how many more people would've been an acceptable loss to save a tiger that ALREADY, PREVIOUSLY proven itself a danger?

Posted by: Dave J at December 26, 2007 08:31 PM

"Would you fault a female dog aggressively protecting its litter? Of course not, it is acting on instinct."

No, of course not. But nor would I fault someone for shooting that dog dead if its "aggressive protection" put someone in danger. They, too, much like the police in exactly this case, would or properly should be acting on instinct.

Posted by: Dave J at December 26, 2007 08:51 PM

I listened to about 2hrs worth of your show and was really surprised by just how funny it was. You really do have a terrific sense of humour. I laughed out loud several times and thought that you were often quite ingenious in how you articulated things.

As for the tiger, I agree that killing it was unnecessary. In my view, an endangered animal like that is worth about a million human beings in terms of biodiversity. The genetic legacy of this animal is so desperately important when the existing gene pool is so small. No hate mail please, that's just my opinion. Certainly, I recognize freely that the life of a tiger or lion or other critically endangered animal is worth my life, if a cold calculus had to be made.

Keep up the good work. I can see why people enjoy listening to you.

Posted by: Poodle at December 26, 2007 10:21 PM

"Certainly, I recognize freely that the life of a tiger or lion or other critically endangered animal is worth my life, if a cold calculus had to be made."

That's a very easy thing to say when not confronted with the reality of ever likely happening. So forget about YOUR life, then, and think about whether you really think your child or your spouse would be "worth it." Whether you would tell the police, don't shoot, let them die.

Posted by: Dave J at December 27, 2007 12:06 AM

Or if the person being mauled was armed, you would actually tell them not to defend themself, but instead please, for some abstract good, allow yourself to be ripped to shreds by the claws and teeth of a large carnivore, a form of death that is literally the stuff of nightmares.

Posted by: Dave J at December 27, 2007 12:09 AM

There is now apparently evidence that the tiger was being taunted by these individuals.

If you're that STUPID, there will be consequences. It's tragic that as a RESULT of THEIR own actions, one of these young men ended up dead, as did the tiger. I hope criminal charges will be filed against the surviving idiots.

Posted by: Kimj7157 at December 27, 2007 09:01 AM

Even our so-called domestic cat is only several thousand years beyond having been wild. I have three cats and I have the scars to prove ANY feline will attack if provoked or angry. My Maine Coon Male is capable of doing some serious damage when he's pissed. Thankfully he's a big baby.
Something about this story hasn't been told yet. There's a human element we have yet to learn about involving this beautiful Tiger and its attack. It was only being a cat and doing what cats do. Stay tuned for further reports. The whole story hasn't been told yet.

Posted by: Rich B at December 27, 2007 09:51 AM

Yes, now it appears that investigators are strongly looking into the possibility that this guy taunted the tigers before getting mauled to death. It saddens me that the tiger was killed because of these idiots, but if I was in the same situation as the responding cops I can't say that I would have reacted very differently.

I know that many zoos provide homes for animals that for one reason or another would not have survived in the wild and therefore, not all zoos should be lumped together as being "bad". Some of them do provide a valuable service for these animals. I've spent many a lunch hour at the Central Park Zoo marvelling at the majesty of these animals.

Let's not forget that our old friend Knut the Polar Bear is a resident of the Berlin Zoo, one such sanctuary.

Posted by: PeteRFNY at December 27, 2007 10:08 AM

One other scenario still exists. The two surviving young men are probably going to Lawyer up and sue the SF Zoo and collect a very nice settlement. All for doing something that (if the taunting reports are true) was incredibly stupid. In the end, a beautiful animal and a young man are dead. What a terrible waste.

Posted by: Rich B at December 27, 2007 11:01 AM

I have seen police respond to wild animal situations. Their default solution is to kill the animal. That's it, problem over.
Why they are not required to carry tranquilizer ammunition - or why they don't use it if they do have it I have no idea - police machismo maybe. Were these police on hand at the zoo? If so, why didn't they carry tranquilizer ammo? If police were called in from outside then the tiger obviously wasn't killing people willy nilly, for it takes awhile for police to arrive on the scene and only one person was lashed at in that time. When the police got the call that a tiger was loose, they should have grabbed their tranquilizer ammo and loaded their rifles accordingly.
I'd bet anything the tiger was doing nothing when the police finally arrived other than trying to hide. If people were stupid enough to linger for the time it took the police to arrive, and not clear out after witnessing the tiger lash out, then they deserve what is coming.
The tiger should not have been killed - we are advanced enough to handle this situation humanely, believe it or not.

Posted by: helpunderdog at December 27, 2007 11:31 AM

Well I feel it was feel it is sad the animal died, especially if these young individuals where stupid enough to taunt it. But I they where I feel they will eventually get their very own Darwin awards.

As for closing the zoo. Hell No. Don't know how much you are around a young child but take one to the zoo sometime. My girls where in love with seeing all the animals. And the fact of the matter is that zoos do serve a valuable learning and preserving place.

As for trying to put an equivalent between a human in a cage and an animal once the animal shows higher cognitive functions I'll worry about that. If you can't realize your in the same boring place everydy are you?

Posted by: Kerrain at December 27, 2007 11:41 AM

In the not so distant past, human "freaks" with lower cognitive functioning were put on display in traveling roadshows, would your kids like to see that?
Animals do know they're in the same boring place every day. The inability to socialize or learn survival skills, the sensory deprivation, and the inability to live according to instincts creates stresses that manifest in many ways: the difficulty zoos have mating these animals and when they do get a birth, the high maternal rejection rate to offspring, or pacing or other repetitive motions that act as coping mechanisms brought on by sensory deprivation...

Posted by: helpunderdog at December 27, 2007 05:19 PM

Many of the readers' comments in today's San Francisco Chronicle echo Tammy's and many of your opinions on the attack. Some have called for a re-examination of zoos in general, the responsibility of the young men involved, and that the tiger was killed for being a tiger.

I haven't been to the San Francisco Zoo since I was a child. It has had a horrible reputation for cramped quarters and I've heard many people lament how depressing it is. Our "illustrious" Board of Supervisors has called for a review of the incident at the January 8th board meeting. As an aside, the zookeeper who was attacked by Tatiana last year has sued and 10 other defendants are named in that suit. I tend to agree with Rich B that the families of these young men with sue as well.

Posted by: Kelly at December 27, 2007 07:16 PM

stupid human- it's what's for dinner.

if they were taunting the cat they deserve what they got and it was criminal to kill the cat. after attacking the zoo keeper , the animal needed to be put in a space like tippi hedren's preserve( http://www.shambala.org/) where it would not be subject to the idiocy and whims of the public and to the sheer stress such unnatural public captivity has on any wild cat, big or small . i have still feral tortie/ calico cats and the thing they find most intolerable is when they cannot remove themselves from human sight or when any attempt is made to touch them- it is completely contrary to their nature and their survival drive to abide such actions from humans . they know better than to trust humans and i have to say i feel exactly the same way.

now they're saying the wall was lower than what was previously specified by the zoo - so clearly not only did the zoo not give a serious care about the safety of the cat- always a consideration when it can be put down for it's natural instincts kicking in when it is threatened or accidentally startled by humans -but it also clearly doesn't care about the safety of it's human visitors.

Posted by: akmitt at December 28, 2007 08:18 AM

San Francisco never gets anything right anymore. (ever since the Army left). What a mess. They can't even abide by the recommendations for the proper height and type of enclosures for the animals in their zoo... if they are sued, it serves them right. The enclosures are required to be built to prevent the animals from suffering potential taunting, etc. by the public, resulting in retaliatory attacks. Tigers are wild after all. I think Tatiana is the real victim here. How sad. If the enclosure had been of the proper design specs, the kids who taunted her would have been merely stupid, and one would not be dead. And she wouldn't be either.

Posted by: daredevilaccordian at December 29, 2007 08:38 PM

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