Reply #36: No shoe in the enclosure; pine cones, not stones.

[Gormy Cuss]

That bit of info about the shoe was incorrect. Pine cones and sticks may have been there long before the attack. There was a shoe print that will be compared to the three's footwear. (see sfgate link for Superintendent Fong's comments on shoe.)

Even if they did something to provoke the attack, the fact remains that the zoo has substantial liability risk because the wall was only two thirds the height recommended. Also, not reported on the national feed AFAIK is that a retired zoo worker claims that a tiger breached the moat and wall in the late 1960s but hadn't gone beyond the final short barrier fence before handlers coaxed him back into the enclosure. (see video at http://www.kron.com )

So the stench you're smelling isn't coming just from the two brothers in the incident.