SAN FRANCISCO: A Siberian tiger escaped from its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo on Christmas day, killing one visitor and mauling two others before being shot dead by police, authorities said.

The attack, lamented as “tragic” by city officials, came a year after the same female tiger, named Tatiana, peeled the flesh from a zookeeper’s arm during a public feeding.

Police expect to take days to clarify what happened, but it appears the 300-pound tiger escaped from its enclosure at the zoo about closing time, which was 5:00 pm local time (0100 GMT on Wednesday).

The zoo’s tigers are kept in an “open grotto,” not a cage, separated from the public area by a moat 18 feet wide and 20 feet deep and a wall taller than 20 feet, said animal care director Robert Jenkins.

“We don’t know how it was able to get out,” Jenkins told news reporters at the zoo.

“The tiger should not have been able to jump (out). This is the first thing we will be investigating,” Jenkins added. “The animal appears to have climbed or otherwise leapt out of the exhibit.” The sun had already set as the four-year-old tiger attacked a man who happened to be near the enclosure, evidently pouncing from behind, slashing his throat and clawing his chest in a deadly blitz.

The tiger then made its way across the zoo grounds to a cafe, where it attacked two men aged 19 and 23, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.—AFP