From someone who knows more than the average person about this event considering I live near Pittsburgh and volunteered and interned at the Pittsburgh zoo for years, I have to say there are a lot more safety precautions put into place than people may first think.
First off, this exhibit was approved by the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), so it passed all the safety exams and protocols and so on.
The window itself is set several feet above the ground. I am about 5'2" and the bottom of the open window comes up to about my chest, so I would estimate that it is well over four feet tall. It was made taller to make it very difficult for a grown person to climb over the window (for what reason they would want to, who knows) and practically impossible for a child to climb over the barrier (without assistance from a parent).
Also, there was an information panel on top of the ledge that was a couple of inches thick and angled at 45 degrees. This was put into place so that if a child was set on top of the ledge and slipped, they would fall towards the viewing deck and not into the exhibit. If you listen to enough news stories, you will see that this worked very well as many parents have come forward to say they had also set their child on that ledge but the information panel caused the child to slip safely inside the viewing deck.
There was in fact netting on the inside of the exhibit just below the window, though it was mostly put in place to prevent objects (such as sunglasses, water bottles, stuffed animals, ect....; these are all things I have seen caught in the netting) from landing inside the exhibit and posing a potential threat to the dogs if the objects were swallowed, choked on, or toxic to the dogs. It wasn't really meant to catch a person because there were already so many safety precautions in place to prevent that. The boy did land on the net. I want to make this point clear. The net DID WORK. IT CAUGHT THE BOY. Unfortunately, his momentum caused him to bounce, not once, but TWICE, ON THE NET, before he fell.
Yes, this tragedy could have been prevented, but it is in no way the zoo's fault. Honestly, I don't want to say it, but the thing to prevent his death is the mother. I understand that many parents have set their children on that ledge not thinking about it, but this whole thing was caused be her lack of judgement. I have taken my nieces and nephews to the zoo, and I never, ever, ever set them on ANY ledge. Honestly, people just need to remember that these are wild animals. Just because they are at a zoo doesn't magically mean they are domesticated.
Zoo staff was on the scene in seconds, the closet staff being only a few feet away, but the attack was also over in literally two seconds. No, I am not exaggerating in the least bit. Once the boy was in the exhibit, the dogs' hunting instincts kicked in.
(If you are easily disturbed by violence, skip this next part; just a warning to the extremely faint of heart)
To them, the boy was live prey, a luxury they don't often have since placing live food in an carnivore's exhibit is considered in humane (
Don't get me started on that one). The African Wild "Painted" Dogs behave much like wolves, including a very strong pack mentally. It took one second for them to surround the young boy and another second for them to each grab and tear. See? Two seconds. Literally.
The keepers and security were present in under five seconds and were able to lure all of the dogs except one back inside their enclosed housing area. They did not enter the exhibit because (1) it was already too late to save the boy and (2) it would have only put their lives in danger. One male dog was very aggressive and refused to leave his kill behind. Unfortunately, security had to shoot and kill this dog after several attempts to dart him, but he was too focused and filled with too much adrenaline to be subdued.
(Okay, everyone can read again)
In conclusion, whatever you hear about the zoo being under-staffed or not taking the safety of their visiters seriously or any other crap like that, it is only the media who refuses to point a finger at the mother and upsetting their viewers. Honestly, this situation is similar to any dog attack were people do something without thinking and the population automatically blames the animal or the owner. This incident should in no way change your views of the zoo. I know that I at least will continue to support the zoo and also will still be taking my little nieces and nephews there this summer. The investigation is also still in place, so do not condemn the zoo. It officially opened yesterday, though this exhibit is still closed. I believe that they will just place netting or plexiglass in the window and re-open the exhibit as soon as possible.
That got really long, but I want to make sure people understand the FULL situation before making false assumptions (like this tragedy being easily preventable or that it is the zoo's or the dog's fault). Please, please, take the time to read this whole post before responding. Thank you.
EDIT:: Also, I forgot to mention earlier, that the remaining eleven dogs are quarantined but will NOT be euthanized, thank God. The reasons for this are (1) the dogs were just acting on natural instinct and it wasn't their fault how they acted and (2) they are an extremely endangered species that cannot afford to be killed off even more.
