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November 6, 2012

Zoo: Wild dogs killed boy who fell in exhibit

The Associated Press Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — A zoo where a 2-year-old boy fell into an exhibit and was fatally mauled by African wild dogs had met or exceeded all safety standards for animals and visitors, proving that no exhibit is “fail-proof,” the zoo’s president said Monday.

Nearby staff responded “within seconds” on Sunday but quickly determined the dog attack was fatal and didn’t send handlers into the enclosure to intervene, Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium president Barbara Baker said.

Instead, the dogs were recalled into an indoor enclosure as they’ve been trained to respond, though four of the 11 lingered near the boy even after blank anesthetic darts, used out of an abundance of caution for the boy’s safety, were fired to shoo them away. One of the dogs, which are endangered, was fatally shot by police.

Baker said the zoo has been open since 1898 and this is the first time there’s been “a visitor incident of this magnitude.” She called the boy’s death a “horrible, horrible tragedy” and said there’s “no such thing as a fail-proof exhibit.”

Baker struggled to maintain her composure during her Monday news conference and made clear she was careful to consider the family’s feelings before answering questions, including one about how the boy died.

She paused several seconds before saying, “I’m trying to think of a family-sensitive way to address that. The child did not die from the fall. The child was mauled by the dogs.”

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