Death of tiger at Winnipeg zoo prompts call for independent review
An animal-protection group is calling for an independent investigation into the death of a tiger that was mauled and killed by another tiger at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo.
The zoo confirmed on Thursday that Baikal, a 19-year-old male Amur tiger, was killed. Zoo officials said Baikal had left his enclosure Thursday morning and entered another area, where two younger male tigers were being housed. Baikal was then attacked and killed.
The older tiger was in Winnipeg on loan from the Toronto Zoo.
A group of high school biology students happened to be visiting the zoo that same day and witnessed part of the attack.
Deirdre Neumann from Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School described what she saw to CTV Winnipeg.
"The two tigers - they kept sizing each other up and eventually one tackled the other one and pinned him to the ground and that's when he went in for the bite,” she said.
Students said the zookeeper was trying to distract the tigers by dumping water on them. More zookeepers arrived and told the student to leave the area.
Neumann said she other students heard a distinctive "crunch" during the attack.
School division officials said they'll offer support for any Lord Selkirk students or staff who are distressed by what they saw.
Assiniboine Park Conservancy President Margaret Redmond said Thursday that the zoo is conducting a full review of the incident and will take all necessary steps to ensure a similar event does not happen again.
But Zoocheck Canada says the zoo should not be allowed to investigate itself.
"While it seems the death of the tiger may have been due to human error, the incident warrants a full review by an independent third party not connected with the zoo or the zoo industry," Zoocheck Executive Director Rob Laidlaw said in a statement.
The Assiniboine Park Zoo declined CTV Winnipeg's request for comment, stating it had nothing more to add from Thursday.
This isn't the first incident at the zoo that has made headlines.
Earlier in September, the zoo's polar bears started chewing on part of an underwater tunnel. And in July, wolves at the zoo managed to dig a tunnel to get into the polar bear enclosure.
Read more: Death of tiger at Winnipeg zoo prompts call for independent review | CTV News
An animal-protection group is calling for an independent investigation into the death of a tiger that was mauled and killed by another tiger at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo.
The zoo confirmed on Thursday that Baikal, a 19-year-old male Amur tiger, was killed. Zoo officials said Baikal had left his enclosure Thursday morning and entered another area, where two younger male tigers were being housed. Baikal was then attacked and killed.
The older tiger was in Winnipeg on loan from the Toronto Zoo.
A group of high school biology students happened to be visiting the zoo that same day and witnessed part of the attack.
Deirdre Neumann from Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School described what she saw to CTV Winnipeg.
"The two tigers - they kept sizing each other up and eventually one tackled the other one and pinned him to the ground and that's when he went in for the bite,” she said.
Students said the zookeeper was trying to distract the tigers by dumping water on them. More zookeepers arrived and told the student to leave the area.
Neumann said she other students heard a distinctive "crunch" during the attack.
School division officials said they'll offer support for any Lord Selkirk students or staff who are distressed by what they saw.
Assiniboine Park Conservancy President Margaret Redmond said Thursday that the zoo is conducting a full review of the incident and will take all necessary steps to ensure a similar event does not happen again.
But Zoocheck Canada says the zoo should not be allowed to investigate itself.
"While it seems the death of the tiger may have been due to human error, the incident warrants a full review by an independent third party not connected with the zoo or the zoo industry," Zoocheck Executive Director Rob Laidlaw said in a statement.
The Assiniboine Park Zoo declined CTV Winnipeg's request for comment, stating it had nothing more to add from Thursday.
This isn't the first incident at the zoo that has made headlines.
Earlier in September, the zoo's polar bears started chewing on part of an underwater tunnel. And in July, wolves at the zoo managed to dig a tunnel to get into the polar bear enclosure.
Read more: Death of tiger at Winnipeg zoo prompts call for independent review | CTV News
