March 20, 2004, 4:18PM
Gorilla rampage sparks safety concerns
Escaped animal harms 4 at Dallas Zoo before shot
By LISA FALKENBERG
Associated Press
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistor...w.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2458285
DALLAS -- The scene at the Wilds of Africa exhibit was wilder than anything most zookeepers have witnessed in the jungle: A 340-pound gorilla breaks out of its enclosure and goes on a 40-minute rampage through a forest, snatching up a toddler with his teeth and attacking three other people before being shot to death by officers.
Federal regulators are investigating the Dallas Zoo over Thursday's escape, zoo officials are trying to figure out how the gorilla managed to break out, and animal welfare advocates are questioning whether officers had to kill the beast.
"Clearly, this is a zoo's worst nightmare," said Dan Wharton, director of New York's Central Park Zoo and chairman of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's Gorilla Species Survival Plan.
Thirteen-year-old Jabari broke out of the enclosure as several families and children took in the jungle exhibit Thursday afternoon. After escaping, the gorilla darted in and out of the exhibit's thick bamboo and trees and attacked four people, including two women and two children.
Police were forced to evacuate an estimated 300 people from the zoo, while some guests hid inside a restaurant and the monorail surrounding the Wilds of Africa exhibit.
Exactly how the gorilla got loose was unclear. Some youths had reportedly teased Jabari shortly before he escaped, but it was not known if that was a factor.
Zoo employees searched Friday for broken tree limbs, footprints, torn foliage, fur -- anything that could provide a clue to how Jabari escaped. They found nothing.
"We're just beginning to wonder whether this is some kind of superhuman feat of physical prowess," said Rich Buickerood, who has directed the Dallas Zoo for 12 years. "For 14 years, this has been a fabulous exhibit, so for this to happen is just incredible. We just can't believe it."
Buickerood said human error isn't to blame and that Jabari couldn't have slipped through a door.
"We're thinking the only thing that could have happened is he got over that wall somehow," he said.
Wharton disagrees.
"Anybody who's worked with great apes has not been able to compute anyway that a gorilla could get up a 15-foot wall," Wharton said. "When you boil it all down, at some level, one has to assume human error. There really is no explanation."
Only two gorillas, including one in Boston last year, have escaped in the last five years in North America, said Wharton, who coordinates the records for the 380 gorillas on the continent.
Johnpaul Jones, who designed the Dallas exhibit, said it's impossible for any heavy-boned gorilla that can reach only 9 feet to have scaled the wall. He said the animal couldn't have broken the viewing glass -- three half-inch layers bonded with clear plastic -- and it isn't likely he passed through the three or four doors blocking the exit.
Past escapes were caused by human error, such as leaving doors open or broken limbs lying around, Jones said.
"There's an inherent danger when you do some naturalistic things," said Jones, whose Seattle-based company pioneered natural zoo settings 30 years ago. "You're always worried about accidents or escapes."
But he said his exhibits, which include some at the famous San Diego Zoo, have increased quality of life for animals and education for people.
Those injured at the Dallas Zoo included a mother and her toddler son. Rivers Noah, 3, was in fair condition at Children's Medical Center with multiple bites to his head and chest. His mother, Keisha Heard, 26, was bitten on the legs.
"I was like, `This is not happening, this is so unreal,' because he just came out of nowhere," Heard said Friday on NBC's Today show. "He has my son in his mouth, he's attacking him, and I tried to help him and there wasn't really anything that I could do. ... He slings me back across the concrete area where we are."
Heard was treated and released along with a woman who suffered arm injuries. A child was treated at the scene.
Federal regulators said their investigation will look at whether the zoo was in full compliance with the Animal Welfare Act, but they would not provide specifics on possible violations.
Darby Holladay, a spokesman for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said the zoo could face fines or have its license suspended or revoked if it is found out of compliance.
Police are conducting an internal investigation.
Dallas Deputy Chief Daniel Garcia said the gorilla tried to charge two officers, "so we had to shoot it."
"You can imagine the pandemonium we had out here when he got loose. We felt terrible to put the animal down," Garcia said.
Lt. Anthony Williams said the officers were standing between the gorilla and more than a dozen people when they fired three shots using rifles provided by the zoo. The gorilla appeared to stand up after the first shot, then fell to the ground as the final shots were fired.
The gorilla, holding a pair of children's sandals, got within 15 feet of two officers before they opened fire, Williams said.
Dieter Steklis, chief scientist and vice president for the Atlanta-based Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, said police could have tried to contain the gorilla with nonfatal techniques, including using rubber bullets or cornering it with a wall of 15-20 people, preferably keepers the animal recognized.
"It sounds like, somehow, there was a bit too much panic on hand and too little judgment of the gorilla's behavior," said Steklis, who has confronted charging gorillas in the wild.
Senior Cpl. Chris Gilliam, a Dallas police spokesman, said the officers used the best method available. Workers armed with tranquilizer guns had pursued the gorilla during his rampage, but could not gain a clear shot, zoo officials said.
"We're talking about a (340-pound) gorilla," Gilliam said. "Plastic bullets wouldn't help."
He said he did not know why zoo employees who were armed with pepper spray did not use it.
The 114-year-old zoo has been in financial straits in recent years. But budget woes aren't connected to the escape, Buickerood said.
In 1998, a 25-year-old zookeeper was mauled by a 340-pound silverback gorilla at the zoo after the door to the animal's cage was left open. The attack lasted more than 30 minutes, leaving the zookeeper with more than 30 puncture wounds. That animal was captured with a tranquilizer dart.