An escaped tiger killed a visitor at San Francisco Zoo and mauled two other men yesterday, a year after the same animal attacked a park employee, officials said.
The Siberian tiger fatally attacked the unidentified man just after the zoo's closing time. It was shot and killed by police while it was on top of another victim, said zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca.
She did not have details about the victims, but reports said the dead man, aged 23, was attacked near an outdoor tiger enclosure. The two injured men were in a cafe about 300 yards away.
They were in "stable but critical condition" at San Francisco General Hospital, said Lt. Ken Smith, a spokesman with the San Francisco Fire Dept. Local news radio KCBS said they suffered cuts and slashes all over their bodies.
Ms LaMarca could not say how the 9-year-old tiger, named Tatiana, escaped. Police were investigating, she added.
The 100-acre (40-hectare) park was evacuated after the attack, but attendance was low at the time because of the Christmas holiday and early darkness,Ms LaMarca said.
The incident follows a December 22, 2006, attack when Tatiana ripped the flesh off a zookeeper's arm during feeding time as horrified visitors looked on. The public feeding house was immediately closed, and only reopened in September after a $250,000 safety upgrade. The zoo now has four tigers.