By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – The recent incident at the Cincinnati Zoo in which a gorilla was shot and killed after a 3-year-old got into the exhibit has zoos across the country reviewing their safety procedures.
Director of Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Jay Tetzloff, said the zoo’s protocol is if a human is in danger, the animal must be shot.
PODCAST: Click here to listen to Susan’s interview with Tetzloff on WJBC.
“Human life will come first for us,” Tetzloff said. “The tiger is probably the most dangerous animal we have. We talk about it (with staff) often. ‘Do you have the ability to pull the trigger. You are close with that animal.’ ”
Tetzloff told WJBC’s Susan Saunders the weapon can be made ready to shoot within two to three minutes or sooner. He said movies have perpetuated the myth that tranquilizers take effect immediately – they don’t.
Tetzloff said that incident in Cincinnati hits close to home for him. He knows at least five of the people who work there.
“I stared at my screen for about five minutes before I actually could write an email to the folks that I know there to let them know that I support them and they are not alone,” Tetzloff said. “At the end of the five minutes I thought, ‘maybe I shouldn’t write this. Maybe if they are constantly hearing this then it just brings it back.'”
Tetzloff added several of the flamingos at Miller Park Zoo came from the Cincinnati Zoo.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
