Urban Tigers in City Zoos
With the escape and killing of the San Francisco Siberian tiger, Tatiana, one wonders if creating a tiger habitat in the city is such a good thing. Yes, the Siberian tiger is endangered and yes saving the species is essential work, but is it work that should be carried out in an urban setting? The loss of such a young female tiger has to be a blow to efforts to save the species but if she was able to leap the 18-foot wall and a 20-foot moat to escape perhaps seeing these majestic felines in urban man-made habitats is something zoos should reconsider. The goal is to help the species survive, not entertain or awe the general public.