Man Arrested After Climbing Into SF Zoo Bear Exhibit

[Kadie]

Man Arrested After Climbing Into SF Zoo Bear Exhibit
Posted: 6:41 am PDT September 27, 2009
Updated: 8:47 am PDT September 27, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO -- A man who allegedly climbed a wall and swam across an 8-foot-wide moat to illegally enter the grizzly bear enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo has been arrested in connection with misdemeanor trespassing and harassing an animal in captivity, police said.

The 27-year-old man was taken to San Francisco General Hospital for an evaluation after he allegedly scaled a short wall, swam across the moat and sat just feet away from some bears about 5 p.m. Saturday.

One bear "did get close enough to sniff him and put his paw on him," San Francisco police Sgt. Wilfred Williams said.

A zoo visitor notified employees, who immediately implemented a "code red" response, according to a statement from zoo spokeswoman Gwendolyn Tornatore.

One worker fired a warning shot to scare off the bears, which were then safely secured inside their dens, Tornatore said.

more...
http://www.foxreno.com/news/21129522/detail.html



Sep 26, 2009 10:49 pm US/Pacific
Man Falls Into Bear Enclosure At SF Zoo

snip...
Zoo officials confirmed that a man tumbled into the bear exhibit at about 5:00 p.m. while the bears were nearby. Stunned onlookers alerted staff to the situation and animal keepers rushed to the area to help get the man out of the enclosure.

Witnesses said the man intentionally climbed into the enclosure and may have touched an electric fence while climbing over the barrier. Once the man was inside, he walked to the back of the pit and laid down, visitors told KPIX-TV in San Francisco.

A bear wandered over to sniff and nudge the man with its paw, but did not attack him.

Handlers fired a warning shot to scare the bears away, and rescue personnel dragged the man out of the area.

The man was conscious but unresponsive when he was rescued, with no visible sings of injury. Authorities say he will face charges of trespassing and entering a protected animal sanctuary.

more...
http://cbs13.com/local/sf.zoo.bear.2.1211100.html


Wow.

[saltpoint]

1. The ghost of Marlin Perkins craving one last wrestling match...

[Lasher]

6. Marlin never wrestled anything.

But poor Jim was put through the wringer every week.

[saltpoint]

7. Hi, Lasher. Was that Jim? I can't remember who wrestled what.

[Ikonoklast]

8. Jim, then later another poor bastard, Stan.

"While I'm safe and sound esconced in the Land Rover, Stan is being chased by at least a dozen lions, crazed with hunger, intent on eating him for dinner."

"Heh heh heh. He sure can run, that Stan. And now a word from Mutual Of Omaha Life Insurance..."


Marlin Perkins was a sadistic old bastard.

[Lasher]

13. Ha ha ha, I can still remember Marlin saying, "Jim and I wrestle the huge reptile."

Then it showed poor Jim getting the shit squeezed out of him by a monster anaconda in some stinking swamp. That scene was followed, according to custom, by stock footage of Marlin looking through binoculars at who knows what in his crisp new jungle khakis.

[TuxedoKat]

9. I remember one episode

where poor Jim or Stan? was actually being chased by a bear and just barely (no pun intended)
pulled himself up into a tree in the nick of time. I tried to find a clip of that on you tube
just now but couldn't.

[Lasher]

16. Is this the footage?

You have to watch a commercial at the beginning. It shows Stan climbing up the tree. I suppose by that time Jim had already been eaten or something.

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/magnificent-moments-grizzly-capture-gone-wrong.html

[TuxedoKat]

18. LOL --That's great!!!

I haven't seen that in years. The event didn't look so harrowing as it did when I was a kid.
The bear must have been tired from all the previous running and fighting with the ropes as it
seems surprising that an angry bear couldn't run down man and grab him (glad he didn't though!).
Then I found this comment (the last one) that suggests maybe some events were staged. Marlon
Perkins defended the honor of the show though. Thanks for the clip. :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121949/usercomments

[Texasgal]

2. How weird...

I wonder what he was thinking?

[comrade snarky]

3. That's what you call

Evolution.

[jgraz]

4. More likely, it's what you call

untreated schizophrenia.

[valerief]

5. Yep. Our heathcare system at work. nt

[Maru Kitteh]

19. "Conscious but unresponsive"

Yup. Untreated schizophrenia is definitely on the menu of what could have gone wrong here.

Sad.

[BuelahWitch]

10. The sad thing is, if he'd been attacked by the bear,

they probably would have shot it. Sounds like the bear had more common sense...

[NoPasaran]

11. If only the bears had been armed, they could have defended themselves

Support the right to arm bears!

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Too hard to get into the tiger enclosure now...

:hide:

[eppur_se_muova]

14. Darwin's Little Helpers caught napping. nt

[PopSixSquish]

15. That Bear Was Probably Confused as All Get Out

and that fella may need some time in the hospital regardless of whether he was hurt...

[Lagomorph]

17. The bear was waiting for his...

...usual meal to use as garnish.