ABC news:Child Mauled to Death by Dogs at Pittsburgh Zoo

[Bang]

from the stuff ive seen on youtube, it doesnt take these dogs too long to kill. probably impossible for anyone to react quick enough to help.

Saw a documentary on them once.. very efficient killers. Their teamwork is astounding.

~Bang

[China]

The Planet Earth series had a good video about them:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/African_Wild_Dog#p0036vfk

[FSUSkins24]

Just watched a couple youtube videos to see what these things actually were (and what they were capable of). I don't think I've ever seen a group of animals toy with or maul another animal the way they were. I can't imagine how sickening it must've been to be a witness. That poor child.

How could you be so ****ing stupid to ignore the obvious danger of putting your child up on the railing. I can't adequately put into words my feelings on this incident.

[S.T.real,lights,out]

What an idiot mother. Very sad....

[DM72]

Why is everyone saying "stupid mother?" We don't know the full details. The kid could have lunged or did something his mother wasn't expecting. Alot of parents have held their kids up on railings when they couldn't see. I'd like to get more details then what was in the blog, then saying "stupid mother."

You hold them in your arms, you DO NOT put them on a railing. My prayers go out to the child and the family, but she showed very bad judgement.

[scruffylookin]

Ass clown to post "those poor dogs" in 3, 2, 1....

Ass clown post using strawmen in 3, 2................oh wait it's happened already.

[Koolblue13]

Why is everyone saying "stupid mother?" We don't know the full details. The kid could have lunged or did something his mother wasn't expecting. Alot of parents have held their kids up on railings when they couldn't see. I'd like to get more details then what was in the blog, then saying "stupid mother."

The woman picked up her baby, put it onto of a four foot wooden railing and then let it go. Now the baby and an endangered species are dead.

The mother is an idiot and should face a penalty.

[pjfootballer]

The woman picked up her baby, put it onto of a four foot wooden railing and then let it go. Now the baby and an endangered species are dead.

The mother is an idiot and should face a penalty.

Oh really? Where does it say she "let the child go." As I said before, we don't have full details. She could have had her arms all the way around him and the child lunged out of her arms. We don't know. Glad you aren't a judge. You have the guilty until proven innocent in you.

[Koolblue13]

Oh really? Where does it say she "let the child go." As I said before, we don't have full details. She could have had her arms all the way around him and the child lunged out of her arms. We don't know. Glad you aren't a judge. You have the guilty until proven innocent in you.

I just read an article in my local paper and a bunch of people said she sat it up there and let it go.

The cell phone net didn't catch the baby and it dropped 10 feet into the cage.

[pjfootballer]

I just read an article in my local paper and a bunch of people said she sat it up there and let it go.

The cell phone net didn't catch the baby and it dropped 10 feet into the cage.

I was going by the actual article posted. If there has been more information posted, then I was unaware of that.

[Vilandil Tasardur]

I live here in Pitt and it's been a huge deal.

Maybe I'm an "ass clown" but I think this woman should be charged with child endangerment. I've been to the zoo and I know damn well that there are clear signs about not climbing the railing. I think she should be held responsible for the death of her child AND for the death of an endangered species that did NOTHING wrong but follow its instincts.

The problem with that exhibit is that, because they are dogs, people think of them as our own puppies. These are still wild animals and vicious killers. No one would dream of holding their kid over the railing to a Jaguar enclosure or a Tiger enclosure, or as mentioned above, a shark tank. These dogs are every bit the wild animals that hyenas are and it's a damn shame one of them had to die for a woman's stupidity.

[Bang]

I agree with Vilandil. Throw the book at her. Her negligence and ignorance led to the death of her child.. no different than if she passed out drunk and he fell out a window.

She's an idiot.

You don't put a kid up there. It's just ****ing stupid.

One slip, and this happens.

It would not have happened if she had just picked the kid up to get a look.. put the kid on her shoulder or something. She let him stand on the rail,and whether she held onto him or not is beside the point. She did something completely stupid, she put the child at risk, and he paid the price..

~Bang

[Koolblue13]

I wouldn't be surprised if she let go of the kid to get her cell phone out of her purse to take a picture.

[Vilandil Tasardur]

I agree with Vilandil. Throw the book at her. Her negligence and ignorance led to the death of her child.. no different than if she passed out drunk and he fell out a window.

She's an idiot.

You don't put a kid up there. It's just ****ing stupid.

One slip, and this happens.

It would not have happened if she had just picked the kid up to get a look.. put the kid on her shoulder or something. She let him stand on the rail,and whether she held onto him or not is beside the point. She did something completely stupid, she put the child at risk, and he paid the price..

~Bang

Thanks man, I was starting to actually feel like an "ass clown".

I had family take a trip to Kenya a couple years ago. They went on one of those guided tours through the bush, but not the real touristy ones. This was more like a legit back packing trip that happened to have guides as opposed to the popular tours. Anyway, they did have armed escorts. However, both the escorts and the government was very clear. "We will shoot to protect you in the event of danger involving most animals. We MAY shoot to protect you int he event of danger involving elephants, and we will NOT shoot to protect you in the event of danger involving a rhinoceros. Humans number in the billions and rhinos in the hundreds."

I'm not trying to say that the dogs shouldn't have been shot. Truth be told, I don't know how I feel about the animal being shot once the child was there. I see both sides. But regardless, I want this woman HELD RESPONSIBLE for the death of an endangered animal. Unfortunately for every single person who has ever been to that exhibit, her actions necessitated the death of a cultural resource.

[Mursilis]

No one would dream of holding their kid over the railing to a Jaguar enclosure or a Tiger enclosure, or as mentioned above, a shark tank.

Even after this incident, you still vastly underestimate human stupidity.

[Vilandil Tasardur]

Even after this incident, you still vastly underestimate human stupidity.

Hahaha. You're right. No one should dream of holding their kid over the railing to a Jaguar enclosure or a Tiger enclosure, or as mentioned above, a shark tank.

[Sticksboi05]

Oh really? Where does it say she "let the child go." As I said before, we don't have full details. She could have had her arms all the way around him and the child lunged out of her arms. We don't know. Glad you aren't a judge. You have the guilty until proven innocent in you.

I understand we don't have full details (although the video reenactment if true disproves your argument) but come on do you really believe he lunged out of her arms? And even if he did he should not have been up there in the first place. I guarantee there were a bunch of signs saying do NOT stand, climb or pull yourself over the railing which is there for a reason. So you stay fully behind it. It's her fault even if the kid unlikely lunged.

[Bang]

he may have squirmed loose.. kids are slippery. Who knows.

He shouldn't have been up there for the simple reason that kids ARE slippery and squirmy, and those dogs down there WILL eat him. Nevermind it's a 14' drop.

~Bang

[Sticksboi05]

he may have squirmed loose.. kids are slippery. Who knows.

He shouldn't have been up there for the simple reason that kids ARE slippery and squirmy, and those dogs down there WILL eat him. Nevermind it's a 14' drop.

~Bang

You're forgetting the multiple signs that probably and according to an earlier poster who lives there, say "do not lean over the railing."

[Special K]

I live here in Pitt and it's been a huge deal.

Maybe I'm an "ass clown" but I think this woman should be charged with child endangerment. I've been to the zoo and I know damn well that there are clear signs about not climbing the railing. I think she should be held responsible for the death of her child AND for the death of an endangered species that did NOTHING wrong but follow its instincts.

The problem with that exhibit is that, because they are dogs, people think of them as our own puppies. These are still wild animals and vicious killers. No one would dream of holding their kid over the railing to a Jaguar enclosure or a Tiger enclosure, or as mentioned above, a shark tank. These dogs are every bit the wild animals that hyenas are and it's a damn shame one of them had to die for a woman's stupidity.

You're not an ass clown. I agree with you. Just because it's a tragic situation and the mom is very likely distraught, I still believe she should have charges filed against her.

Additionally, I don't blame anyone for calling this mother stupid. I'm sure even she agrees with that now. We don't need to know if she "let him go" or other nuance details. The bottom line is that she disregarded any semblance of common sense and placed her child in a dangerous situation that facilitated his death.

I am constantly awed by the depth of human stupidity...

[Sticksboi05]

Unfortunately it looks like the boy didn't die on impact.

[Sticksboi05]

And apparently there are no warning signs which is incredibly stupid since the zoo should know people think they are smarter than they are but still.

[Vilandil Tasardur]

And apparently there are no warning signs which is incredibly stupid since the zoo should know people think they are smarter than they are but still.

Then I stand corrected. Maybe I'm thinking of a different exhibit that has those signs. I strongly think I remember the tiger exhibit says "do not climb on fence" and the elephant exhibit has something about not standing on the beams (because it's not a traditional fence as much as a bunch of boards in front of you). I must have gotten the exhibits mixed up.

For those that haven't seen, this is a picture of the exhibit. The dogs run and play along the inside of those slopes. The exhibit is semi-circular in nature with an island that extends into the circle (which is what is pictures above). The island itself has pretty high fencing (as you can see) and I believe may even be roofed. I suspect the fall happened at a different fence point because I don't see how anyone could hold a child over that.

Edit:

Here is another image which makes the island look more open.

[Koala]

Wow,.charging the mom with negligence is a bit much, dont you think.

Every parent that has successfully raised a kid into adulthood has gotten lucky a number of times. Every parent makes some split second, dumb decisions, without even thinking about them, oblivious to the danger they expose their child to. And it is only by the grace of God that those decisions didnt end in catastrophe, not because they are such superior parents, so you can get off your high horse now.

Ever answered your cell phone will driving with kids in the back? You're lucky, you could have killed your kid

Ever decided to wait a day or two to see if your toddler's fever would go down before taking him to the doctor? You're lucky, that could have been meningitis and two days later would be two days too late.

Ever hoisted your kid onto your shoulders so he could get a better view of something? You're lucky you didnt trip, else that could have ended badly for both of you

Ever thrown a baby into the air and caught it, to get a giggle out of them? You're lucky you dont have Leonard Hankerson's hands.

Ever let you kid play near a street, even a neighborhood street? You're lucky a drunk driver didnt come tearing along

Ever let go of your childs hands for a millisecond while yo were near a street, maybe to fish something out of your wallet? You're lucky your kid didnt dashi into the streeet and get runover.

Making a bad decision does not constitute negligence, and people who think that obviously have never seen true negligence. True negligence is forgetting to feed your kids days at a time. True negligence is showing a lack of basic care and total lack of love. NEGLIGENT PARENTS DONT BOTHER TAKING THEIR KIDS TO THE ZOO IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

This is most likely a woman that loved her kid as much as anybody, and made a mistake. If you dont think youve ever made a mistake that put your kid in danger, then you are precisely the type of clueless moron that has probably put their kid in a 1000 bad situations but is not introspective enough or too retarded to ever realize it. You can stop judging now.

[Sticksboi05]

I wouldn't call it negligence I agree. It was just really stupid. And your comparisons aren't as immediately dangerous as a pack of wild dogs waiting below. The percent increase of chance of disaster by answering your phone isn't as high as removing the barrier between a kid and a 14 foot fall/lethal animals.