Enraged Mommy tapir attacks female zookeeper,ripping off her arm & leaving her in critical condition,in OK
Joe1orbit
I had myself a VERY busy, but also extremely productive day. It was
stressful, to spend 11 hours straight mingling with you humans in public and in
the outdoors, but overall it went well, and now I have 3 consecutive easy days
to relax and hibernate at home in my fortress, right up until Tuesday. I'll try
to squeeze in 3 or 4 posts this evening, and then get down to serious posting
tomorrow, with 8-12 new thread TC News posts.
Prior to reading the below news item, I really had only the vaguest idea of
what a TAPIR is. I did know that this animal is "pig-like", but that's about
all I knew. Now my interest in Tapirs has been awakened, thanks to the actions
of one particular ENRAGED tapir, over at the Oklahoma City zoo.
Earlier today, a 34 year old female zookeeper was PULLED INTO a cage by an
enraged tapir. Our Pugnacious Pork-like creature proceeded to TOTALLY bite off
one of the zookeeper's arms, and also assaulted her face and body, punctoring a
lung. Pretty impressive behavior for a tapir, if you ask me.
The zookeeper is hospitalized in CRITICAL condition. Her arm was COMPLETELY
torn/bitten off, and MANGLED so badly by our tapir that re-attachment will not
be possible.
This tapir goes by trather benign sounding name of Melody. She attacked the
zookeeper as the keeper was trying to feed her, earlyt in the morning, before
the zoo was opened to the public. Melody the tapir is a recent Mommy. She gave
birth to a baby tapir just 2 months ago, and the baby was inside the same cage
as Mommy Melody. Hey, maybe Melody was suffering from postpartum depression? Or
maybe she simply felt that the zookeeper posed some kind of threat to her
offspring? Only Melody herself can know for certain why she chose to undertake
this impressive attack upon her cage imprisoning keeper.
Tapirs are NOT known to be carnivorous animals at all. They eat plants. Well,
Melody certainly seemed to have a taste for human flesh, or maybe just blood,
this morning.
Luckily our tapir was not shot dead by arriving cops. The zookeeper's
co-workers managed to pull her out of the cage after the attack, and so
responding police couldn't quite justify legally murdering Melody. She remains
at the zoo and HOPEFULLY will not be punished in any way for having committed
this impressive, human crippling attack.
Take care, JOE
The following two news articles both appear courtesy of today's Associated
Press news wire:
Woman's Arm Bitten Off in Zoo
By JAY HUGHES
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A tapir pulled a zookeeper into its cage and bit her arm
off as she tried to feed the animal Friday morning.
The woman, who also suffered facial injuries and a punctured lung, was in
critical condition and undergoing surgery after the attack at the Oklahoma City
Zoo.
The arm was detached about the mid-bicep level, said Allen Poston, a University
Hospital spokesman. The arm was too mangled and contaminated and could not be
reattached, Poston said.
The woman's name wasn't released until her relatives could be told.
Zoo officials aren't certain why the Malayan tapir named Melody attacked the
keeper, who was feeding the animal before the zoo opened. The tapir's
2-month-old baby was also in the cage.
``As I understand it, she opened the door to push the food in and the female
grabbed her arm,'' said Steve Wylie, zoo executive director. He said the tapir
dragged the keeper into the enclosure and began mauling her.
A groundsworker ran for help and a group of employees managed to drag the
keeper from the cage.
A tapir is piglike in appearance and about the size of a donkey. It is related
to the horse and rhinoceros. Tapirs browse on twigs and are herbivores.
The animal, which can weigh several hundred pounds, is found in the jungles of
Central and South America and Southeast Asia.
The tapir at the Oklahoma City Zoo will remain on display.
AP-NY-11-20-98
----------------------------------------------------------
Zoo Officials Investigating Tapir Attack
11/20/1998
The Associated Press
(AP) — Oklahoma City Zoo officials believe maternal instinct prompted a Malayan
tapir to maul a keeper, ripping off her arm in an attack unexpected from the
“inoffensive, shy and retiring” creature.
Lisa Morehead, 34, was mauled about 8:35 a.m. Friday while feeding the female
tapir, named Melody, and the animal’s 2-month-old calf in an enclosure behind
the exhibit area.
Doctors at University Hospital were not able to reattach the woman’s arm. Allen
Poston, a spokesman, said the arm was too mangled and contaminated for such
surgery to succeed.
Zoo director Steve Wylie said Ms. Morehead was pushing food through a small
door into a holding area when Melody grabbed her by the arm and jerked her
through the 2-foot-wide opening.
“The baby was between Lisa and the mother,” he said. “From what we can tell, it
would be the usual scenario of mothers protecting their young.”
A sign at the exhibit describes tapirs as “inoffensive, shy and retiring.”
Wylie said that’s generally true, although there are recorded instances of
tapirs showing spontaneous aggression.
Ms. Morehead, also treated for several cuts and a punctured lung, remained in
the hospital in critical condition. Wylie said she has worked at the Oklahoma
City Zoo about two years, and before that was a keeper in the Tulsa Zoo.
A grounds worker was with Ms. Morehead when the attack occurred and ran for
help. Workers were able to drag the keeper out of the 7 foot by 15 foot
enclosure when Melody paused from savaging her.
“It’s obvious by her injuries it’s a good thing somebody was there,” Wylie
said. “I think we’d be talking something different if she was alone.”
Tapirs are a relative of the horse and the rhinoceros, but look like large pigs
with long, flexible snouts. Adults are about the size of a donkey, growing to
be more than six feet long and weighing up to 600 pounds. They are herbivores,
foraging green shoots of low bushes and trees in the wild.
The animal is native to the rain forests of Central and South America and
Southeast Asia.
Melody will remain on display.
“These things happen and it’s not the animal’s fault. The animal reacts the way
the animal reacts,” Wylie said.
“This animal did what an animal is supposed to do, protect its young.”
Less than three hours after the attack, Melody and her calf were in the exhibit
area. The mother lay within feet of the exhibit fence, close enough for
visitors to clearly see the dried blood caked on her head.
The Rev. James Fallwell, a middle school bus driver who chauffeured a field
trip to the zoo Friday, watched as Melody lay contentedly on a patch of bare
dirt, moving only her head and snout.
“I couldn’t believe that really happened until I saw the blood,” he said.
“She’s got a capability of one snap, and with those teeth she could snap a
person in half. She looks strong, like a bull.”
Wylie said keepers are often bitten, kicked or otherwise injured by their
charges, but those incidents are mostly minor and are considered part of the
job. He said Friday’s attack is by far the worst that has occurred at the
Oklahoma City Zoo since he came there 13 years ago.
The incident upset zoo co-workers. Wylie said about 40 attended a group
counseling session Friday afternoon.
“It’s a really emotional thing when one of our colleagues gets hurt,” he said,
adding that keepers are always aware of the danger in dealing with wild beasts.
It is important to keep animals in a zoo setting on a routine since changes in
routine may cause changes in behavior, Wylie said. But he said Friday’s attack
will prompt some modifications in how keepers care for Melody and her calf.
“She’s obviously been aggravated to kill, and that probably hasn’t left her
mind,” he said. “We’re going to have to be careful dealing with her.”
----------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of today's Reuters news wire:
Oklahoma zookeeper loses arm in tapir attack
OKLAHOMA CITY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A Malayan tapir on Friday bit off the arm of
a woman keeper who was feeding it in its pen, Oklahoma City zoo director Steve
Wylie said.
The woman, whose name and age had not been released, was in critical condition
at a local hospital,
``She was severely injured, and dismembered her left arm.
She received a lot of other lacerations and probably some broken bones,''
Wylie said.
He said the female tapir had an infant, which may have been part of the reason
it attacked.
The Malayan tapir, a native of southeast Asia, resembles a black and white pig
with an extended snout. It can weigh 800 pounds and on average grows to a
height of three feet at the shoulder.
15:04 11-20-98
EGlas35107
barbaric places around. Return the animals to their natural environment. If
they are in danger of extinction, then open some type of game farm, but don't
put them on display.
The only difference between a human animal and other animals is that we have
mastered the use of our thumbs. Otherwise, we'd be stuffed on some creatures
den wall.
Aviva
Grnbrier
> Prior to reading the below news item, I really had only the vaguest idea of
>what a TAPIR is. I did know that this animal is "pig-like", but that's about
>all I knew. Now my interest in Tapirs has been awakened, thanks to the actions
>of one particular ENRAGED tapir, over at the Oklahoma City zoo.
<snip of amusing post>
Hi Joe,
Thanks for the interesting and fun post. I've always liked Tapirs--they're so
damn *weird.* (I'm a fan of duck-billed Platypuses, also--can't WAIT till you
find an item about an enraged Platypus.)
Tapirs have unusually peculiar SNOUTS, kinda like a cross between a pig's and
an anteater's. Since I was a litttle kid, I always thought they were one of the
"forgotten creatures" of the animal kingdom, and that they deserved more
attention. Nice to see that one's making news, kicking some human ass at that!
Doogie
> Take care, JOE
Joe1orbit
>> Prior to reading the below news item, I really had only the vaguest idea
>of
>>what a TAPIR is. I did know that this animal is "pig-like", but that's about
>>all I knew. Now my interest in Tapirs has been awakened, thanks to the
>actions
>>of one particular ENRAGED tapir, over at the Oklahoma City zoo.
grnb...@aol.com (Grnbrier) Wrote:
><snip of amusing post>
>
>Hi Joe,
>
>Thanks for the interesting and fun post.
Hello Doogie,
My pleasure.
> I've always liked Tapirs--they're so
>damn *weird.*
After I posted this news item, I did go to dejanews and did a search on
"tapir", finding a few cool photos of them. I really had no idea what they
looked like, other than a vague "pig-related appearance", prior to doing so.
> (I'm a fan of duck-billed Platypuses, also--can't WAIT till you
>find an item about an enraged Platypus.)
I'll keep my eyes open. :)
>Tapirs have unusually peculiar SNOUTS, kinda like a cross between a pig's and
>an anteater's. Since I was a litttle kid, I always thought they were one of
>the
>"forgotten creatures" of the animal kingdom, and that they deserved more
>attention. Nice to see that one's making news, kicking some human ass at
>that!
Yup, I always enjoy giving credit and attention to a deserving and overlooked
attacker of humans, be it a fellow human or an animal.
Take care, JOE
>
>Doogie
>> Take care, JOE
>
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