A security guard closes the gate at the Pittsburgh Zoo, where zoo officials say a young boy was killed after he fell into the exhibit that was home to a pack of African painted dogs. (Photo: John Heller, AP)
PITTSBURGH -- A mother's attempt to give her two-year-old son a
better view of wild African dogs turned into a "horrific" tragedy at the
Pittsburgh Zoo after the boy fell into the exhibit and was killed by a
pack of the animals as relatives and bystanders looked on.
Lt.
Kevin Kraus of the Pittsburgh police said the attack happened at about
11:45 a.m. Sunday after the mother picked the child up and put him on
top of a railing at the edge of a viewing deck. "Almost immediately
after that he lost his balance, fell down off the railing into the pit,
and he was immediately attacked by 11 dogs," Kraus said. "It was very
horrific."
It's not yet clear whether the boy died from the fall
or the attack, said Barbara Baker, president of the Pittsburgh Zoo &
PPG Aquarium. Zoo officials at first estimated the boy fell 14 feet,
but police said it was 11. It's not clear which is correct.
Authorities
said that zoo staff and then police responded "within minutes" but
visitors described that time as being filled with screams for help.
Zookeepers called off some of the dogs, and seven of them immediately
went to a back building. Three more eventually were drawn away from the
child, but the last dog was aggressive and police had to shoot the
animal.
Steve Feldman, a spokesman for the Association of Zoos and
Aquariums, said no one he's spoken to can recall any deaths of children
at an accredited zoo over the last 40 years or more. Feldman said the
Pittsburgh Zoo successfully completed its 5-year review in September,
which means it meets or exceeds all safety standards.
Authorities
didn't release the name of the boy or his mother, but say she is 34
years old and lives in Pleasant Hills, just outside Pittsburgh. The
boy's father arrived on the scene soon after the accident, police said.
The zoo was immediately closed, and it was not clear when it will reopen, authorities said.
The
so-called painted dogs are about as big as medium-sized domestic dogs,
and 37 to 80 pounds, according to the zoo. They have large, rounded ears
and dark brown circles around their eyes and are considered endangered.
The
attack happened in a 1.5 acre exhibit called the Painted Dog Bush Camp
that's part of a larger open area where elephants, lions and other
animals can be seen. Visitors walk onto a deck that is glassed on the
sides, but open in front where the roughly four-foot railing is located.
In
May, some of the dogs crawled under a fence and escaped into a part of
the exhibit that's usually closed. The zoo was on lockdown for about an
hour as a precaution.
Past fatal attacks at have prompted zoos
around the nation to review safety features of their exhibits. In 2007 a
tiger jumped over a wall at the San Francisco zoo, killing one visitor
and wounding two others. Authorities first said the wall was 18 feet
high, but a review found it was just 12 ½ feet.
In September a man jumped off an elevated viewing train at the Bronx Zoo in New York and was severely mauled by tigers.
Kraus said there was nothing to prevent visitors to the painted dog exhibit from jumping into the exhibit area.
Police
and the Allegheny County medical examiner's office are investigating,
and they haven't yet interviewed the mother and father, who are
receiving grief counseling.
Baker said the zoo, which has never
had a visitor death, will also investigate. She said no decision has
been made yet on the future of the exhibit.
Associated Press