Zoo initially thought bite victim making it up

SANFRANCISCO – Zoo personnel initially thought a San Jose man was “making something up” when he told them a tiger was on the loose and had bitten him, according to a transcript of police dispatch report released Friday.

The report reveals a chaotic scene Christmas night when a Siberian tiger escaped her cage at the San Francisco Zoo and attacked three men, killing 17-year-old Carlos Sousa, Jr.

Nearly two tense hours would pass between the initial 911 call from a cafe employee and the 6:57 p.m. message that there were no additional victims, “no employees trapped, all tigers secure.”

In that time, the dispatches reveal, zookeepers tried to shoot the tiger, Tatiana, with tranquilizers; zoo security initially did not allow police inside; and a zookeeper disobeyed police orders and ran to the pen by himself as officers tried to account for the zoo’s other cats after mistaken reports that as many as four tigers might be roaming one of the city’s most popular attractions.

While the chaos apparently did not contribute to the tragic outcome – Sousa is thought to have been killed early on – the dispatches raise questions about the zoo’s preparedness for emergencies.

The new details surfaced at a brief press conference Friday, where Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo wouldn’t answer questions. Mollinedo simply announced the zoo would remain shuttered until Jan. 3.

Mollinedo was joined at the conference by San Francisco police Chief Heather Fong, who said the investigation “found absolutely no evidence” that someone intentionally released the tiger.

Though more interviews need to be done, Fong said investigators had finished their examination of the zoo grounds, which had the area labeled as a crime scene since Tuesday’s attack. Police officials distributed the dispatch reports at the end of the press conference.

According to the new documents, the 911 call came at 5:08 p.m. Tuesday: “A very agitated male is claiming he was bitten by an animal,” the dispatcher said, relaying a call from a cafe worker. “They do not see any animal missing// Male is bleeding from the head.”

Two minutes later, the dispatcher reported: “Zoo dispatch now say there are 2 males who the zoo thinks they are 800 (crazy) and making something up // but one is in fact bleeding from the back of the head.”

Ten seconds later, the zoo confirmed the men were right. “Now they are saying they have a tiger out.”

Officers eventually entered the zoo and minutes later found a victim with a large “puncture to neck.” They later found another man “whose brother was bit by the tiger.”

That was apparently Paul Dhaliwal. Police would later find his brother, Kulbir, at the cafe, with the tiger beside him.

“I have the animal right” in front of me “at the gate off of Herbst,” an officer reported at 5:25 p.m.

With the tiger in their sights, officers warned each other of “blue on blue” – possible cross-fire if they needed to shoot. Two minutes later, at 5:27 p.m., the tiger began “attacking victim.”

“Stop shooting,” an officer said, 34 seconds later. “Have cat, shot cat.”

Beside Tatiana was a 23-year-old man, presumably Kulbir Dhaliwal, bleeding from the face and back of the head, but conscious and breathing.