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AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MORECoach Doc Rivers a “fan” from way back of Jazz’s Jordan Clarkson The three men were attacked around closing time Tuesday on the east end of the 125-acre zoo grounds near Ocean Beach, Gittens said. The officers who hunted down and shot the 300-pound animal were alerted through a 911 call placed by a zoo employee. The San Francisco medical examiner had not been able to identify the dead man, investigator Tim Hellman said Wednesday. The man did not have any identification and no one had called asking about him, according to Hellman. The two injured men, ages 19 and 23, were upgraded to stable condition Wednesday at San Francisco General Hospital after undergoing surgery to have their wounds cleaned and closed, said surgeon Rochelle Dicker. They suffered deep bites and claw cuts on their heads, necks, arms and hands. Dicker said they were shaken up emotionally and would remain hospitalized for the day, but that because of their youth they would make a full recovery. “They are in good spirits. They look absolutely fanstastic,” she said. The San Francisco Zoo was closed to visitors Wednesday as investigators tried to determine how a Siberian tiger escaped from its enclosure on Christmas Day and attacked three visitors, killing one of the men and mauling two others. A team of police officers returned to the zoo just before 9 a.m. to search for other possible victims. They said they did not expect to find anyone, but wanted to conduct a thorough sweep of the grounds because it was unclear how long the tiger had been loose before she was killed by police. “There’s no better light than daylight,” said Sgt. Neville Gittens, a police spokesman. “The idea was to come back and quaddruple check to make sure nobody out’s there. We just want to know.” The tiger, a female named Tatiana, was the same animal that ripped the flesh off a zookeeper’s arm just before Christmas 2006. An investigation of that incident by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health faulted the zoo, which beefed up the pen where big cats are kept. The zoo’s director of animal care and conservation, Robert Jenkins, could not explain how Tatiana escaped. The tiger’s enclosure is surrounded by a 15-foot-wide moat and 20-foot-high walls, and the big cat did not leave through an open door, he said. “There was no way out through the door,” Jenkins said. “The animal appears to have climbed or otherwise leaped out of the enclosure.” Police who had been alerted by a 911 call from a zoo employee responded to the scene just after 5 p.m. A group of four officers came across the body of the first victim The first attack happened right outside the Siberian’s enclosure when they entered the dark zoo grounds, Gittens said. The second victim was about 300 yards away, in front of the Terrace Cafe. The man was sitting on the ground, blood running from gashes in his head and Tatiana sitting next to him. The cat attacked the man again, Mannina said. The officers approached the tiger with their handguns. Tatiana moved in their direction and several of the officers fired, killing the animal. Only then did they see the third victim, who had also been mauled. Although no new visitors were let in after 5 p.m. Tuesday, the grounds had not been not scheduled to close until an hour later, and 20 to 25 people were still in the zoo when the attacks happened, zoo officials said. Employees and visitors were told to take shelter when zoo officials learned of the attacks. “This is a tragic event for San Francisco,” Fire Department spokesman Lt. Ken Smith said. “We pride ourselves in our zoo, and we pride ourselves in tourists coming and looking at our city.” There were five tigers at the zoo – three Sumatrans and two Siberians. Officials initially worried that four tigers had escaped, but soon learned only Tatiana had escaped, Mannina said. On Dec. 22, 2006, Tatiana reached through the bars of her cage and grabbed a keeper, biting and mauling one of the woman’s arms and causing deep lacerations. The zoo’s Lion House was temporarily closed during an investigation. California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health blamed the zoo for the assault and imposed a $18,000 penalty. A medical claim filed against the city by the keeper was denied. Last February, a 140-pound jaguar named Jorge killed a zookeeper at the Denver Zoo before being fatally shot. Zoo officials said later that the zookeeper had violated rules by opening the door to the animal’s cage. After last year’s attack, the zoo added customized steel mesh over the bars, built in a feeding shoot and increased the distance between the public and the cats. Tatiana arrived at the San Francisco Zoo from the Denver Zoo a few years ago, with zoo officials hoping she would mate with a male tiger. Siberian tigers are classified as endangered and there are more than 600 of the animals living in captivity worldwide. Associated Press writers Louise Chu and Terence Chea in San Francisco and Daisy Nguyen in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Associated Press writer Daisy Nguyen in Los Angeles contributed to this report. On the Net: San Francisco Zoo160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! read more