Security improved at Romanian zoo following tiger escape. As tiger was shot dead, mayor says he is pleased with actions taken in the case

Joi, 15 decembrie 2011, 16:59 English | Top News

The mayor of Romanian city of Sibiu, where a tiger escaped from zoo earlier this week, was quoted by the media on Thursday as saying that he was please with the actions taken to solve the situation despite describing them as chaotic. Mayor Klaus Johannis ordered measures to improve security at the zoo following the escape of the tiger - which was eventually shot in a forest near the city.

The tiger escaped from the Sibiu Zoological Garden on Tuesday morning and found refuge in a nearby forest before reaching a neighborhood in the city, close to a local gendarmerie building. According to local authorities, the tiger escaped due to the negligence of a zoo employee who left the cage half open as he cleaned it up. The tiger was killed in a forest between Sibiu and the town of Poplaca at noon that day.

The female tiger was 14 and weighed some 200 kilos.

Mayor Johannis said on Thursday that the tiger's cub will be given to a protected park in Europe and no other animal would be procured for the Sibiu Zoo until security is improved.

He said the zoo manager might be dismissed following the incident.

But despite admitting that authorities found it difficult to intervene given their lack of preparation for such cases and that communication was chaotic, he said he was pleased with how the situation was solved.