Virginia Is For Families

“The Christmas Day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo may have some Coachella Valley residents worried about safety at The Living Desert, but officials at the local zoo said Wednesday such concerns are unfounded.

“Safety is a prime concern at our facility,” said Terrie Correll, during a news conference at the Palm Desert Zoo. “We review animal containment daily, and, like all members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, we regularly have safety training sessions and emergency drills with our staff.”

Correll, a spokeswoman for The Living Desert, said the zoo strictly adheres to the mandatory standards of safety and emergency protocols set by the association, which goes beyond federal, state and local requirements.

“Our hearts go out to the family of the man who lost his life, and we extend our best wishes for a speedy recovery to the the two injured guests,” Correll said of the San Francisco attack.

“We also extend our condolences to the staff at the San Francisco Zoo. This is an extremely difficult time for them.”

Tuesday’s attack was the first visitor fatality connected to an animal escape at an Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facility, officials said.

The Christmas Day attack, in which a Siberian tiger escaped from an enclosure, left one man dead and two others critically injured…….”

Here is something I wrote recently that seems more pertinent now than perhaps it did a few weeks ago.

Tiger, Tiger such a fright

You have given me tonight.

I thought to take a little walk

And here you come

As if to talk.

Please pretend you

Do now know

My heart

Is wishing you would go.

Your eyes are bright

They so delight

Our need for color

Grace and light.

But not for what

I see inside

When hunger strikes

On this most lovely,

Lovely night.