It seemed? Looks like it was confirmed by the article in OP. The boy was lifted to stand on the railing then he fell.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Child mauled to death at Pittsburgh Zoo
- Thread starter purg3
- Start date
- Status
It seemed? Looks like it was confirmed by the article in OP. The boy was lifted to stand on the railing then he fell.
IHaveCandy
Banned
I'm going to assume the parent was not paying attention for some reason while the kid hopped the fence. I never get how some parents are so content with letting their kids run around with little supervision. If I had a kid, he'd be in arm's length or eye contact at all times. If I was tired of dealing with him, I'd have somebody else responsible watch him while I relax and do my own thing.
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
So it's the parent's fault then. I was reading the posts here and people aren't keen on pointing the mother yet.
Etrian Oddity
Member
When I read this in the OP, my jaw literally dropped.
ffs... horrible story all around.
cloudwalking
300chf ain't shit to me
Probably was maiming the body or trying to eat it, I'm sure they wanted to end the gruesome spectacle as soon as they could, and that one dog wouldn't back down unfortunately.
Maiming sounds so evil, I'm sure the wild animal's only motive was to eat the little gum drop.
I took some footage at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aviary and combined them into a short video around a year ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7_mIC5JdDA
you can see the painted dog exhibit briefly starting at 0:42 second mark.
I really can't remember what the enclosure looked like. I searched my computer and didn't take any photos. I did have some extra video footage that may have given a better look, but deleted it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7_mIC5JdDA
you can see the painted dog exhibit briefly starting at 0:42 second mark.
I really can't remember what the enclosure looked like. I searched my computer and didn't take any photos. I did have some extra video footage that may have given a better look, but deleted it.
Choke on the Magic
Banned
Just read this story. Actually made me sick to my stomach. I really don't get how this could happen.
HammerOfThor
Member
I feel awful for the mother and child, but why on earth would you set your kid on a railing like that where falling isnt bad enough, but there are animals at the bottom that won't hesitate to attack. And it's not even the animals fault, what would you expect them to do.
Come on now.....
Come on now.....
She wasn't.
Really crappy situation all around, I just hope the zoo or dogs get the brunt end of it. There are countless exhibits where you could get mauled if you were to hop over/fall over the rail, it's not the dogs' fault for having basic animal instincts. And those dogs are incredibly good hunters for their size.
I've been to that exact zoo/exhibit.
Either the mother literally threw her child.
or
She gave so little fucks that she gave him multiple minutes to climb without noticing or doing anything.
100% her fault.
Hope if she has any other kids that there are mandatory CPS visits to the house frequently because if she is this incompetent in public I wouldn't be surprised if the home environment was much better.
Also fuck the cops for killing the dog, I'll take an endangered animal over a little kid with obviously poor genes any day.
Either the mother literally threw her child.
or
She gave so little fucks that she gave him multiple minutes to climb without noticing or doing anything.
100% her fault.
Hope if she has any other kids that there are mandatory CPS visits to the house frequently because if she is this incompetent in public I wouldn't be surprised if the home environment was much better.
Also fuck the cops for killing the dog, I'll take an endangered animal over a little kid with obviously poor genes any day.
FalsettoVibe
Member
Even though it seem like it's the parent's fault, that'a a tough lesson to learn. I imagine she placed the child on the railing to get a better look, then took her eyes off the child.
Wow.
Wow.
outunderthestars
Banned
CornBurrito
Member
Do you know what genetic drift is?
You're trying so hard it's just sad now. Either way, welcome to the ignore list.
Ace Harding
Member
Terrible tragedy. I was surprised at the animals involved. I've seen these guys lots of times at the Philadelphia Zoo, where they are tucked away in an exhibit next to the cheetahs, sort of a random corner of the zoo. They are usually just sitting around, doing nothing. I've never seen them excited or running around at all. They are also pretty small. Not lap-dog small but not big dogs by any means. 11 of them acting as a pack would be very hard to get in the middle of though. One on one a healthy adult human would probably be OK but with more than one no way.
Once the kid fell in I'm not sure how this could have been prevented. If someone jumped in immediately after the child and tried to grab him away from the dogs the adult would almost certainly have been mauled as well, or made the situation worse by trying to wrestle the kid away. If you've ever tried to grab a rope or something away from an excited dog you know what that can be like.
Sounds like a combination of bad exhibit design plus bad parenting. Horrible.
Edit: Just saw a video of them killing prey in the wild - these guys are vicious. One can single-handedly take down an impala or kudu, usually by chasing it for long enough to exhaust it.
Once the kid fell in I'm not sure how this could have been prevented. If someone jumped in immediately after the child and tried to grab him away from the dogs the adult would almost certainly have been mauled as well, or made the situation worse by trying to wrestle the kid away. If you've ever tried to grab a rope or something away from an excited dog you know what that can be like.
Sounds like a combination of bad exhibit design plus bad parenting. Horrible.
Edit: Just saw a video of them killing prey in the wild - these guys are vicious. One can single-handedly take down an impala or kudu, usually by chasing it for long enough to exhaust it.
Omegasquash
Member
It's a tragedy to see a child pass in a terrible way. I hope his family and those close to him, as well as those near the incident, find peace.
We have over six billion people.
Unless that person is close to me and I'm biased, or if that person is a great scientist or doctor I'd always take the endangered animal over them.
If we were down to a million or less humans left? Then I would be the other way around fuck endangered animals.
There is nothing wrong with the exhibit. Either the mother literally threw him through a tiny gap or she gave him multiple boosts for him to be able to reach high enough to slowly climb out. That's like saying a blender is built wrong because an idiot can stick their hand in.
Good Job Bob
Member
Gotta love Sperges.
That was the first thing I thought of. Trying to fight 11 wild dogs when they're going for a kill is probably futile, but I couldn't watch my child be ripped apart in front of me while yelling for someone else to step in. At least jump in and try to scare them away, anything.
Horrible story though. I can't imagine being the mother and having to see that happen.
Monocle
Member
How do you know the kid wouldn't have grown up to make important contributions to society? Basically, you're relying on an assumption to justify your (probably feigned) misanthropy.
Alligatorjandro
Banned
I'll risk killing an animal to save a person any day.
No, but I'd shoot that volcano dead on the spot endangered or not.
out0v0rder
Member
mom must have been a michael jackson fan
CornBurrito
Member
Imagining being in a situation can be very different from being in the actual situation.
It is very suspicious IMO.
Well no shit.
IHaveCandy
Banned
The last time I was at the zoo, I got extremely nervous when my date reached over the railing with my iPhone to take a better picture. I didn't say anything, but I was really worried that she would drop it since she is rather clumsy. I couldn't imagine ever daring to prop my kid on a railing like that.
I think the point is, a lot of people say "If that was me, I'd do X!" but historically that usually doesn't happen. For every heroic rescue there are 50 instances of people standing around helpless. Even when the person in peril is a family member.
Count Dookkake
Member
If she has other children, they should be removed from her care.
Zoo did nothing wrong.
Zoo did nothing wrong.
I'm just saying that if that happened to my daughter, I'd jump in there after them. I know things are different when you're in the situation, but I also know what it is to be a dad since I am one, and watching my daughter get ripped apart by dogs isn't something I'd be okay with.
Situations like a person on the street that I don't know being assaulted by random people that I don't know and this situation are quite different.
Well they are a pack of wild dogs. I guess somewhat comparable to wolves. So even if they might not be able to instantly kill you, they would probably permanently disfigure/injure you.
did you get that tingling/tickly feeling in your balls? I hate that feeling so much.
They were on National Geographic's World's Deadliest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82kQTkWnKwg
Most animals don't attack adult humans, but I don't think 14 of them would have that much difficulty killing an unarmed adult if they wanted to.
I don't know if this was posted yet, but it gives you a better idea of how the kid fell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8H_JhCaTss
I think the drop complicated matters a lot in this case. 14 feet is a lot. Chances are if you tried to jump down, the fall would mess you up and you would be no help anyhow. If this was a 6 foot fence with no drop on the other side, more people might have tried to help.
A 14 foot drop does complicate things, but if you lowered yourself as far as possible before jumping then the drop would be a lot more manageable. Either way, I'd be in there. I'm sure the mom feels horrible about it now and will probably replay that day in her head for the rest of her life. That's probably worse than anything anyone could say to her.
This part does certainly seem like negligent parenting to me:
Pittsburgh police Major Crimes Lt. Kevin Kraus said the boy's 34-year-old mother placed the child in a standing position on a wooden railing overlooking the enclosure.
Looks like the zoo is quickly building a frame completely enclosing that exhibit....they don't want the lawyers to even snap a photo of the old set up.
Is it really the zoo's responsibility to ensure that it is 100% impossible to get into outdoor animal enclosures as long as the animals themselves can't get out? If I was dead set on doing so, I could hop the observation railing and fall 15-20 feet into the Siberian Tiger enclosure at the Toronto Zoo. That doesn't mean the exhibit is unsafe. You can usually get into the whale and dolphin tanks in marinas if you wanted to as well. Some guy drowned a couple of years ago after sneaking into an Orca tank to swim with the whales at night. At some point, it is the visitor's responsibility not to do dangerous stuff.
The zoo will probably get sued and settle out of court to avoid more publicity, but I don't agree that it was their fault. The child's mom ignored posted warnings and let her kid stand on the guard railing. He didn't climb over when her back was turned. She picked him up and placed him on there. When you have a little kid, it is your responsibility to keep them safe.
Yeah no doubt. The mom should probably have some kind of charges brought against her from the little bit I know from the article in the OP. At the least it's a horrible accident. But if it's anyone's fault, it seems like it's the mother and not the zoo.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
So basically the issue is that the wire mesh was not fully-secured to the top of the railing along its entire length? The early reports made it sound like this kid climbed to the top where the mesh meets the roof instead of falling through the bottom of it. That must have been a pretty decently-sized gap in the mesh for small child to slip through. Either that, or the kid was in the absolute midpoint of the open seam and the mother completely lost a grip on him for him to slip through with enough force to open a gap.
From the ABC video and other pictures, it actually looks like there is not mesh on the observation deck (which is common in zoo enclosures). The mesh they refer to was a net 4-5 feet below the deck to catch objects that patrons accidentally drop. It was probably meant to catch popcans and sunglasses to prevent the dogs from eating something hazardous, not to stop children or other people from falling in. It sounds like he hit that net, and then bounced off into the enclosure.
- Status