Bet you the family sues, and wins.... despite it being the parents responsibility.

It's not that easy to fall into a wild animal exhibit at a zoo. Mother was absolutely not watching her child!!! There had better NOT be a lawsuit that is won over this... no payoff to this extremely negligent parent!

we dont know the story...obvious negligence but non-the-less a horrible ACCIDENT people! What if one parent was watching and thought through miscommunication the other had the kid? It happens a lot.... and parents you know your kids can get into some serious situations because you turned your back for one second...

its easy to judge till it happens to you

Sorry for the kid. Sorry for the dog. Sterilize the mother.

"It's not that easy to fall into a wild animal exhibit at ' a zoo ' ". One would hope - but these obviously very dangerous animals already had escaped from the exhibit before. I certainly can't tell from the article whether the zoo had reasonably secure barriers in place.

This is so horrible. I am thankful the little boy's suffering has ended, I can't imagine how horrible it was for him.

I just don't understand how; at that age, someone was not holding his little hand.

I've never heard of these animals.

Makes you wonder if the mum was holding him up on the top of the enclosure so he could 'see better' and then lost her grip on him. Those barriers are tight and nothing can really get through them: meant so that these kinds of negative events don't happen. So something out of the ordinary had to occur for this kind of breach of the barrier I would think. They'll probably discover that eventually...

A terrible thing.

Where was mom, hmm? Was she holding her son up over the rail or fence to see the doggies?

She's an idiot and her child paid with his life.

She is entitled to nothing if she tries to sue. I hope the courts side with reason.

As someone who has been to that zoo countless times with my kids, I know that that specific exhibit is pretty well secured, but there is no safety net. However, those dogs hide all the time. I've never actually seen them active and moving about before. I can see why a mother might lift her kid up a bit to give them a view, I mean, who really hasn't done that before, but no one could have imagined this would happen. Ever.

Remember here - a boy died. Let's not forget that.

I regularly go to the San Diego Zoo, and you wouldn't believe how many parents encourage their children to climb on fences or the sides of enclosures or encourage other dangerous behavior so they can get a great photo of their child with the wild animal. No matter how thoroughly a zoo tries to prevent human/animal encounters, they're no match for a determined child and a careless parent. I don't know if this is the case in the Pittsburgh incident, but I can see how it could be.

That poor little boy must have been terrified.Somebody wasn't watching him.I don't see how this could have happened unless he climb up on the barrier.I'm sure his parents are horrified and guilt ridden but then the signs posted aren't there for decoration.

My bet is that the mother decided to hoist the little kid up on top of the enclosure barrier so he could have a better view and lost her hold on him. There is no way a three year old got over the barrier and fell into the exhibit on his own. Of course the mother will try and claim that is what happened to avoid taking any responsibility. I also imagine that the mother will try and sue the zoo as well. I feel sorry for the poor kid who lost his life through the negligence of his mother. I am also a little outraged that some ignorant cop shot one of the dogs for simply doing what it does naturally. The kid was already dead and there was no reason to kill the dog. They could have simply waited for a qualified zookeeper to get there with a tranquilizer gun to subdue the dog and retrieve the body. Shooting and endangered animal when the animal has done nothing wrong is a crime itself and I hope that the cop is disciplined for his unwarranted actions. I figure the mom has enough punishment in having to live with the guilt of knowing that she is responsible for the death of her child, so I will not call for her to be prosecuted as well, but there is no doubt that she is the one ultimately responsible for this tragedy.

We hope he was knocked out and felt nothing. Nowadays you wonder if he was dropped on purpose. Ugly to say but should be investigated. Sorry for father.

Read the article the dog would not leave the boy. It had to be shot. We will promise not to shoot it if you are in that situation. Good idea according to Darwin.

No doubt they'll blame the animal - now a beautiful creature will be destroyed simply because it was acting on its instincts around urbanites who are too dumb and domesticated to know how to behave around a wild animal.

"Where was mom,"

Busy throwing her child to the dogs perhaps? Somethings either missing from the story or something smell fishy to me.

he somehow got over a railing, which is about 4-5 feet high, then apparently fell off a mesh barrier about 14 feet into the exhibit at about 11:45 a.m.

My guess is the "somehow" was poor parenting.

The African wild dog (or painted dog) hunts in packs and is one of the most successful predators in the world. They are incredible coordinated pack hunters that a NATGEO documentary said had an 80% success rate on hunts. Once the "hunt" was on, not likely anyone would survive.

There is a lot of description of the type of dog in this story, but little or no information about the child's family.

What if one parent was watching and thought through miscommunication the other had the kid?

Jayfos - read the story! It clearly states that, "The child, about 3 years old, was with his mother". There is no mention of a father. The mother was negligent. You can't blame "miscommunication".

...but these obviously very dangerous animals already had escaped from the exhibit before.

LAJ19 - The fact that these dogs escaped once before has absolutely nothing to do with this incident nor does it indicate that the animals are dangerous. They were in their assigned exhibit/cage. They did not kill the child during an escape. Most animals will tend to escape if given the chance. That does not mean that they are dangerous. Jeez!!!

Did any of you actually read the story before jumping to conclusions or conjuring scenarios?

It specifically says, "He fell about 11 feet off a railing that his mother had put him on top of to view the animals, police said." and "The boy's father arrived on the scene soon after the accident, police said."

This story is so tragic. The mother should not have put her child on top of the fence. I am a Pittsburgh native and I have been to this zoo on numerous occasions. There were some problems with these dogs in the spring as well. I hope the remaining dogs are not killed and they are sent to a secure wildlife habitat away from the general public.

What do you mean how did the boy get over the railing?

"He fell about 11 feet off a railing that his mother had put him on top of to view the animals, police said."

The mother put him on top! She should go to court for negligent manslaughter.

Actually Scales the dogs are dangerous but they are wild animals in a cage not meant for human contact. The dogs were only doing what they do instinctively. It may seem cold but they don't differentiate a 2 yr old from any other food source its just a shame the dog was shot but I am sure any one of us would have done the same thing if you were watching what the dog was doing to that poor child. Regardless of how careless the mother was this poor child was dead, and nothing will change the effect that will have on everyone who was involved.

Scales, I said obviously dangerous because they just killed a child {duh}.

The fact that they escaped before shows there was some kind of security problem with this exhibit (not enough information to know whether security measures involving fencing or something were lacking and it led to the tragedy).

Everyone keeps saying, someone wasn't watching him. I don't buy it. The story says, she put him on the barrier to get a better look. She wouldn't have let go of him, surely. But a two year old us top heavy, their heads are the heaviest part and it's easy for them to lose balance. She was just stupid and endangered her child. She will have to live with that nightmare over and over each night. I feel sorry for her and the child. Hopefully the 11 ft. fall rendered the child unconscious, so he wouldn't have felt the bites. His spirit is back in heaven now and he will never hurt again.

It was a different exhibit that they escaped from.

This is tragic. That poor child.
That stated, do not put your child on the railing! I've taken my children to our San Diego Zoo. There is the railing, then a shrub about two feet from the wall, then the four foot wall before falling into a moat at the bottom of the exhibit. If my children can't see the animals, I just lift them up, but never balance them on the railing.
Also, if that had been my child, I would be jump into the exhibit after them. No way am I standing on the sidelines watching my child's fate unfold.

js in sd.

i suspect the cop shot the dog so they could safely reach the child to see if he was still alive and be treated. time was of the essence. one wild dog for a shot (sorry) at saving the child? a smart choice.

Re:Re:

Re: I am also a little outraged that some ignorant cop shot one of the dogs for simply doing what it does naturally. The kid was already dead and there was no reason to kill the dog. They could have simply waited for a qualified zookeeper to get there with a tranquilizer gun to subdue the dog and retrieve the body. Shooting and endangered animal when the animal has done nothing wrong is a crime itself and I hope that the cop is disciplined for his unwarranted actions.

Re: I thoroughly agree -- there was absolutely no reason to shoot the dog at that point. I'm betting that, seeing the body of the child, the cop was just running on emotions at that point. Still - shooting the dog was wrong.

My reply: Yes, they should not have shot the wild dog. It really was doing what came naturally to it. And shame on them for removing the child from the pen. It is natural for the dogs to eat what they have killed. They should have left it alone and let nature take its course.

Morons.

Did any of you actually read the story before jumping to conclusions or conjuring scenarios?

PerpetualAmazement - these stories are constantly edited. The first posters who read the stories often get a different version than posters who read it later. The first edition of this story said nothing about the child falling 11 feet off a railing. It said that the fence was 4-5 feet tall and that there was another barrier made of mess before one would be in contact with the dogs if one bypassed the first fence. The first story also said that no one knew how the boy happened to fall. It was unknown whether he climbed the 4-5 fence and fell in, and it was unknown where his mother was at the time he fell. If you bothered to read some of the other posts, you will see that there was confusion over how the child fell into the exhibit when the story was first published. There was no mention of the father in the first story. I remember because I was wondering where the father was and reread the story specifically to look for mention of the father. So, yes, there are those of us who actually read the entire story before posting.

The fact that they escaped before shows there was some kind of security problem with this exhibit (not enough information to know whether security measures involving fencing...

LAJ19 - the article clearly states that the dogs escaped by crawling under a fence. So please tell me, Einstein, what connection there is between dogs crawling under a fence and a child falling 11 feet off a railing on which his mother had set him. The dogs did not attack the child after escaping from their exhibit. They attacked the child because his mother was negligent enough to perch him on top of a fence and he fell. That is not a security breech on the part of the zoo. It is a zoo visitor acting irresponsibly. The fact that the dogs escaped and a child fell into the exhibit are totally unrelated.

For those who stated "read the story" and wondering why people don't know how he got over the railing... this story was recently updated and it says it under the headline. When this story was first written, it said a 3 year old boy fell 14 ft and was attacked by the dogs and died. And only stated that he had been visiting with his mother and friends. It did not have as many details at that time, which is why many were wondering how he got over the railing. It did not say that his mother had put him up on the railing. Just wanted to make that clear to those who did not see the original story. Either way, it is a tragedy for all.

Thank you, cookies77! The story that I read earlier today did not even mention his mother and friends. It only mentioned his mother...no friends and no father were mentioned.

Sue the Zoo some of you suggest?

There is one solution to the innocent's death as I see it: Mommy Dearest, who is reported as putting her toddler on top of a fence to "see" the wild animals better, should be arrested for manslaughter.

"Ignorance of the law is no excuse" was said by Oliver Wendell Holmes. Solving life-threatening problems can be learned.

And the absolute rule for learning is paying for the consequences of bad behaviors we choose. The death of a baby at that ignorant mother's hands (as well as the hands of her similarly dysfunctional colleagues) goes beyond her shock of her baby's death.

It is much more than just that. Its most important facet is how able is she to extrapolate her murderous behavior to other choices she must make in her life. Sure, she won't put a child on top of another wall again, one would hope. But what else has she learned? Her existing subnormal prospective affects her choices on many other dangerous things she might choose that badly affect those who do not invite nor deserve them.

She belongs in jail.

It states right in the story that the mother placed the boy on the railing so he could see better....sharp as a marble this one....

The mother made a horrible horrible mistake, one that will haunt and torment her for the rest of her life. I can't say she deserves that, stupidity should never come at such a high price. My thoughts and prayers to those affected by this. I can't imagine what they are going through, that poor child.

"The child was with his mother visiting the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. He fell about 11 feet off a railing that his mother had put him on top of to view the animals, police said".

Where does this incredible stupid parent come from? She put him on the railing - the death is strictly her fault. He should have been in his stroller and strapped in. Hard lesson to have learned.

The sad thing about it? There will be more incredibly stupid parents coming in behind her. These are WILD animals, and NOT pets. I have never been to a zoo that there were not signs posted to stay OFF the railings - Parents can't read? Or it pertains to everyone else, but them? /shrugs

RIP little one.

Seconsight, my thoughts were the same thing. Then I had to realized. That mother would never thought this would of happen. Putting her in jail is not going to bring her baby boy back. The fact that she didn't protect her son. She is going have to live with that for the rest of her life. Let this be a eye opener for everyone. Please be aware that incidents like this can happen. My heart goes out to the family and they are in my prayers. May god be with you all.

To all you above that wrote it was *wrong to shoot the dog who stayed with the child* you disgust me. I knew there would be comments that the dog was *only* doing what dogs do. I don't give a @hit about that line of reasoning. Think about this if it was your grandchild, sibling's child, your child, you are saying the zoo officials should have let the dog(s) feast on this poor baby in front of spectators and then to have it YouTubed all over the world. Abhorrent and completely unacceptable.

First my heart goes out the the father of this child.

Second, to all of you defending the mother for 'maybe looking away one second' please note that the story explicitly stated:

He fell about 11 feet off a railing that his mother had put him on top of to view the animals

stop defending this irresponsible mother!

The mother was stupid, and I cannot see suing the Zoo when the danger of placing a 2-year-old child atop of a protective fence, above an enclosure for predatory animals, should be clear to any sentient individual.

But, I also feel sympathy for the mother, who was merely stupid. If such stupidity were always paid back with death in this world the world's population would be closer to 1 billion than 7.

I'm from the Pittsburgh area, and the latest is that apparently the mother let the child stand on the railing....and he fell.

For everyone criticizing the onlookers, just what exactly were they supposed to do? It was a 14 foot drop into the enclosure, and the dogs set on the child almost immediately.

Let's see. Mom purposefully puts the 2 y.o. up on a barrier wall so the kid could see something he would never remember.

I'lll bet the lawyers are already lining up to sue the zoo. The mother was is stupid. (Something tells me this didn't make her any smarter.) The lawyers are greedy. and the author of the article tries to minimize the responsibility of the parent by commenting on the fact that the dogs had escaped previously. The dogs' previous has no relelvance to the stupid antics of the mother.

The state should punish the mother for not following the ZOO rules and causing the child to be killed. I know she is likely besides herself with grief, but WTF was she thinking?

I read this paragraph on my comcast news feed:

The attack happened in a 1.5 acre exhibit called the Painted Dog Bush Camp that's part of a larger open area where elephants, lions and other animals can be seen. Visitors walk onto a deck that is glassed on the sides, but open in front where the roughly four-foot railing is located.

I hope this poor child was killed by the fall so he/she did not have to suffer the trauma of being attacked by a bunch of dogs. I hate the thought of this mother balancing the child on a rail to see the exhibit. Who knows what goes on in the mind of parents who take such risks with their children.

Rest in peace little angel.

This is incredibly sad. I have a 2 yr old son and this story breaks my heart. I remember my Dr once telling that babies and toddlers can die even falling a short distance, depending on how they land. Still, falling is a terrible way to die as well. What a tragedy.

Parents, please heed the safety signs at the zoo. They are there for a reason!

My kids get a swat on the butt if they even climb on the bottom of a railing- even without wild animals present. If they need a better view, you hold on to the kid tightly a couple feet back from the rail, you don't put them on top of it!

I heard about this first on the television news this morning. I was outraged. I am still outraged. I realize the mother is grieving the loss of her son, BUT that does not change the facts here. This woman put a helpless human being whom she was in charge of in imminent danger which resulted in loss of life. This was a reckless, careless, and irresponsible act on the part of the mother. If anyone else had performed such behaviors on this child as to cause him to be killed, that person would be arrested, drug tested, investigated and charged with manslaughter. This was a horrible and gruesome death that was inflicted on this baby. Let the wheels of justice roll...

did you guys even bother to read the article...the mother set the boy on the railing where there was no glass partition. He fell, either lost his balance or leaned over to get a look below and then fell into the area. the nets do not hold the weight of humans just small objects that people drop on purpose or by accident..

the mother needs to be charged with reckless endangerment and neglete...just like they charged a woman here in GA when her son pulled away from her and ran out into the street and got hit by drunk driver..

As many posters have stated, the original article didn't have the information that the child was put on the railing by the mother. It simply stated that the child somehow climbed a 4.5 foot railing and fell through a mesh screen into the enclosure.

I'd like to believe that this mom is going to "suffer enough" for the rest of her life, thinking about how she failed her child...but I just dont believe it.

If she sues the zoo, you can all but guarantee she's convinced herself it wasnt really her fault.

and if thats the case, id say manslaugther charges are warranted.

Jessica I so agree that the mom is going to suffer enough for the rest of her life. I also agree that if she sues then she surely has convinced herself that she is not at fault. This whole thing is such an ugly tragedy.

Now she understands why they say don't get too close to the fence.

J. Hicks - It says it was a boy, but you still feel the need to write "he/she"?

I've been to that zoo many times, especially when my children were younger. That exhibit used to hold the cheetahs, until they got the African painted dogs. I don't know where the cheetahs went - I miss them. Still, that exhibit was plenty well secure. The zoo is not to blame, the mother is. She should have known better.

This seems to me to be some sort of corollary to a Darwin award, because she removed herself from the gene pool by removing her offspring.

If U read nothing else in this post, read this 1st sentence carefully:

I have BOATLOADS of sympathy for the child who died but, I have zero sympathy for the "mother". (U can stop there, if U like.)

"Nowadays you wonder if he was dropped on purpose."

It wouldn't surprise me. It also won't surprise me when (approx 8 weeks from now) we see a story about her being pregnant with another she can neglect.

"if it was your grandchild, sibling's child, your child"

If this was MY grandchild, I would B beating MY (grown) child; Because they wouldn't have learned this stupid $hit from me!

If this were my nephew, I would B beating my sibling. (Yeah, I would probably go 2 jail 4 both of these.)

If this were my child, he would still B alive; Because I wouldn't have let him on the railing. It's there 4 a reason.

Ugh!

@ plain bob #1.13,

You make me sick. Please do not have any children, amen. Lack of remorse shows that you have very limited capabilities of even being called a human.

The reason they shot the dog is as long as there is a CHANCE he was still alive, speed was of the essence.

The thing that scares me the most is...young children bounce...(i think you'll get the meaning)

rather than sit there all slack-jawed, why didn't mon jump in after her kid?????

or was it because the kid had how much life insurance on him??????

why, indeed!!!!

Paul in Chicago, the article said the dogs immediately attacked the little boy so she would have died as well..... although, I must say if that would have been my baby, I believe I would have taken that chance or died along side my son trying!

No doubt she will suffer this guilt forever and my heart goes out to this family but I also agree with most posts.... I hope they don't sue the zoo. She made a dumb decision that will haunt her forever. It's so very sad.

To Bob-620072

And shame on them for removing the child from the pen. It is natural for the dogs to eat what they have killed. They should have left it alone and let nature take its course. Morons.

Are you freaking serious with this statement? You really think they should've left the childto be further devoured by the animals? Where in civilized society do you EVER hear of such a thing? I think the real moron is you. Should you ever have the misfortune to be attacked by a wild animal at any point, any onlooker shouldn't intervene and "let nature take its course" per your brilliant logic. The gene pool could do without idiots like you, after all.

Jesus...did this mother learn her parenting skills from watching Michael Jackson?

"I think I'll dangle this baby over the railing so people can get a better look...what could possibly go wrong?"

For those who stated "read the story" and wondering why people don't know how he got over the railing... this story was recently updated and it says it under the headline.

I wish MSNBC would mark changes when a story is updated.

Tabasco Ed J. Hicks - It says it was a boy, but you still feel the need to write "he/she"?

Are you kidding me? You must be one of those people that my son calls a "grammar nazi". It's the closet thing I can think of to describe someone who would call me out for writing "he/she". Good grief!

To Wxz65 who commented to Bob-62007. He was being sarcastic in response to those who thought the animal should not have been killed but tranquilized. I would like to say no one is that cruel but I know I would be wrong. However, I think Bob is just as upset as you:) I cannot imagine if I were one of those who had to view this scene that I would not want something done immediately as well, even killing the dog. I am an animal lover too, but not at the expense of an innocent human life. As for the mother, I like many of you do not really know what to think. Either way, its a tragedy.

Cell phone. Apparently there is an app that is enthralling to parents and a lot of parents have this app given my observations of parents paying far more attention to their smart phone than their kids

We don't really know what happened. Obviously there was some kind of a safety breach with the parent and/or the zoo structure, but sometimes 'freak' accidents can happen in circumstances where no one did anything egregious. I can't imagine how heartbroken the mother must be.

I'm also wondering if the child was already dead when he landed. A child dropping 14 feet isn't going to fare well in the first place. This is such a horrible tragedy I suppose I'm hoping he never lived to feel the attack.

Why do you automatically blame the parent? The enclosure was obviously insufficient to keep the child out, even if the parent had lifted him up. The zoo should pay and apologize to the mother.

Dan542129: Why do you automatically blame the zoo for a faulty "obviously insufficient" enclosure wall? There is nothing 'obviously insufficient' as enclosures are inspected by the state or your license is suspended while your gates are closed.

Did it ever occur to you that you're NOT supposed to be lifting your child up over your shoulders and onto the slippery rail of an exhibit? There isn't quite enough information in the article to say how this happened, but according to your statements, this kind of event would be an everyday occurrence - and (obviously) its not. These barriers are difficult to breach for a REASON, and I serioulsy doubt a 3 year-old found a way to accomplish this all on his own.

O DAN! Typical response, lawsuit. He was THREE YEARS OLD - you watch them like a hawk! Don't start blaming the Zoo and the animals people need to start taking personal responsibility I know, a foreign concept in these times of lazy parenting and ambulance chasing lawyers.

It's pointless to throw blame until we hear the facts. We don't know if there was a faulty railing. We don't know if the mother or father was even there - could've been a babysitter. We don't know if the child had slipped out of his caretaker's grasp and they were desperately looking for their lost kid, when he climbed up and fell. Everyone wants to immediately blame somebody before we know anything. The only thing we know is that a child died a tragic death. And, the fate of the dogs that mauled him is up for grabs. The dogs are not there by choice, and acted on instinct. They are not trained animals taught to behave properly around children. They are caged animals living in an artificial environment for our viewing pleasure. I feel horrible for the child, but I do hope the dogs are not put down over this incident.

There could be a number of things that contributed to this tragedy, and without more information I'm loathe to say that the mother was enthralled with their cell phones. If it comes out that they were distracted with electronics, then yes, there is a case for criminal negligence on their part, however the article is short on details. Was there another child involved, in particular a young one who might have had the mother's attention at the time? What is the setup- is it easy for a young child to climb over or would it have taken some time? I've seen three year olds climb to the top of tall playgrounds extremely quickly, a distraction by a baby or a conversation or a ringing phone or even a loud noise somewhere else would be enough time to miss their climb. Sometimes young children are not the best listeners, if there was a place where he could get in and over but it wasn't easy for mom to follow it might be a case of a three year old not listening to a parents instruction, and if you tell me your three year old was perfect and followed your instructions the first time every time I'll ask for proof.

I am not absolving anyone of responsibility yet, but that doesn't mean we should immediately knock the mother for being distracted or unwilling to control her child. Wait for the story to unfold before passing judgement.

I hate zoos. There is something indigeonously wrong with harboring wild animals in cages and confining enclosures just for the amusement of humans. These dogs are most likely insane with the frustration of their living quarters.

Annie-322924,I am in agreement with you on this subject.

I so agree Annie - 322924. I can't go to zoos or the circus anymore. I feel like I want to throw up when there - everyone oooohs and ahhhhhhs and pretends the poor animals are somehow grateful and happy to "perform" for our viewing pleasure. In this day and age we can view plenty of videos on the Animal Planet, etc that have been taken discretely and not harmed animals. I grew up with birds in cages, hamsters and rats in cages - just can't stomach it anymore.

Anyone stating blindly without knowing exactly what happened, that the parent is at fault has apparently never been a parent to a child.

While it's true that we should wait till all the information is in, all the news reports so far say that the child WAS with his mother (no mention of father or anyone else,) that there WAS a safety barrier of netting as well as the railing, although the child somehow bounced over that (this needs to be checked out to determine whether it was inadequate or whether the child was actually thrown out over it), and that the railing was between 4' and 5' high (high enough an average 3 year old certainly couldn't just lean over it!) So, the presumption is he either had time away from his mother's attention to climb up on the railing, or she was balancing him on it in the first place (an idiotic behavior, but we have all seen this happen time after time - parents lifting kids up onto zoo or bridge or boat railings.) Sadly, it also makes me feel that preventing some people from having children would save more lives than limiting abortion.

Just watch-if the "mother" is at least middle-class she will not only go scott free,but she'll have a lot of people fawning all over her,and she'll rake in a huge financial windfall in the next few days.

If this had been a woman from the projects they'd have already put her UNDER the jail. Ditto,if a male caregiver without any social clout had done what she did.Even if a male caregiver who was a little bit higher in social standing had done it,I guarantee he'd face a lot more scrutiny than she will.

Until people start admitting that women who look like June Cleaver can commit heinous crimes or at best criminally negligent acts,the same as anyone else can,they're going to continue to get by with it.

"He fell about 11 feet off a railing that his mother had put him on top of to view the animals, police said." that's where the mother was.. she placed her lil baby on the rails to see the wild animals (who shouldn't be in the zoo in the first place) and she either looked away or lost her grip or something. was it a great choice? no. has anyone else in this world ever made a poor choice? of course. remember riding in the back of your dads pickup truck? how bout going on a boat without a life jacket or going into a new neighbors home to say hi? the point is we have all made poor choices we regret now. this poor mother lost her child and this poor baby lost his life, and that should be mourned. maybe you wouldn't have put your kid on the railing but I'm sure you all have done other things. NO ONE HERE IS PERFECT. to all those that hold themselves higher and judge others, what you put out comes back to you times 3 think about that before you condemn through word or deed.

I hate zoos, too. I have brought my children to a few thinking that it is their only chance to appreciate the beauty and wonderment of the wild animal, but every time I go, I am sad, and sickened by the animals' fates. I try not to project this onto my small kids, but as they get older I will be more forthright. Animals should not be "exhibits".

I'm also wondering if the child was already dead when he landed.

In a horrible horrible way I am almost hoping he was. I think the quick death of a fall would be much better then feeling yourself being torn apart by animals. This is such a horrible thing. That poor poor baby.

No reason to throw blame until it is known if there was a faulty railing? Really? The railings are not there to put your 3 year old child on! This isn't rocket science. It is common sense, that this parent was obviously lacking.

I remember as a dumb young mother my little child wanted me to hoist him up to see over a hotel balcony - now the child is grown - but I remember as I set him down I thought, "that was just dumb" I was ten stories up and never did it again - I just did a bunch of other dumb things with them. Over the years I got hypervigilent from my mistakes - but this was post Michael Jackson, Blanket and that balcony in Berlin - so I should have known better. But I just wonder guys - could that mother have been trying to click off a pic on her iphone of that kid on the fence with the dogs as a back drop - please mommies - seriously - in the future just photoshop your kid up there later - don't try for the actual shot - no picture you can tweet in nanoseconds is worth having your baby fall 14 feet into a pile of wild dogs. But I guess we shouldn't judge her too harshly - we've all done dumb stuff - we just didn't talk about it - unfortunately for MJ and Steve Irwin - the pics will live on in internet infinity - the rest of us just privately repented and thanked God for the second chance.

I dislike Zoo's but they are needed. Many animals have lost habitat because humans are #1, any land we want we take. If people don't see how wonderful these creatures are, there will be no hope for them. The zoo reminds me that we have to take a stand, development marches on. I have a membership at our local zoo, I take my kids once a year, I want to support the effort to teach future generations what we had, and what we have lost.

Terri, and now there is one less of this endangered species because of a stupid human and another that shot the likely alpha of his canine pack -trapped in a small enclosure in a friggin' zoo. But hey, what's the loss of one or two endangered animals when there is always a breeding program the zoo can make money on. And we all know this incredibly dumb mother will also just crank out another 2 or 3 just like the one she helped kill.

Dan,

How can you blame the Zoo when the parent blatantly "lifted" the child up onto a four foot high railing and the poor child falls over while relying on his mother to protect his life? I hate to put blame anywhere when a young person has died. Especially in the manner in which he did die.

Considering what happened, I just hope he was unconscious during the attack. I would have jumped right in there and fought with my life to save my child or any others since they were dogs and not tigers where I would have no chance.

Also, there "is" a small safety net but it's only to catch cameras or cell phones. Too bad he didn't get tangled up in that.

R.I.P. little guy......

you only put your kid on the top railing if you want to ''insure'' your own future. perhaps with double indemnity. for accidental death.

as in ''attacked by wild african dogs'' somehow.

or is swept out to sea during a hurricane, while walking/driving along the beach.

''who knew there was going to be a hurricane today''. yeah, it came as a complete surprise. to everyone!!!!! DUH!!!

kcstrawberryblond2

What are you talking about with your nonsense that the mother must have been a middle-class woman who looked like June Cleaver, and she will make tons of money off of this in a few days, while if it had been someone of a lower class with husband with no social clout, she would already be in jail?

You truly disgust me...This is not about what economic class this family was (or race, as you refer to June Cleaver, middle-class Caucasian),this is about a little innocent child losing his life in a horrid way, period! To try to project and turn this into some kind of class discrimination issue just shows where your thoughts are and what kind of dumb defense you would make for the mother if you were her lawyer and she was to be charged with a crime.

This is about a mother who showed extremely poor judgement and negligence by allowing a small child to sit or stand on top of a railing that is there to prevent falling into an exhibit.

To creek dog, who wrote, "I would have jumped right in there and fought with my life to save my child or any others since they were dogs and not tigers where I would have no chance" and "I'll never understand why some people will come on here and post such moronic statements."

Well, creek dog, for one so critical of others, you certainly have posted a "moronic" statement. You wouldn't have had a prayer against these African wild dogs (painted dogs). For starters, they're not even in the same genus as dogs and wolves. They have the strongest bite force relative to body weight of any mammal with longer fang teeth and an unarmed man would be quickly killed if attacked by even two of them. Funny you should mention tigers since another member of the African wild dogs' subfamily, India's dhole, is known to kill Bengal tigers although they normally suffer some fatalities themselves. I won't bother to go into the difficulties you'd have navigating the protective webbing and taking a 14' drop to where the "dogs" were. Fortunately, your bravado remark is limited to a keyboard.

I'm sorry for the dog that was shot for simply doing what nature designed him to do. The PARENTS of the 3-year old brat are the ones who should be shot for not controlling the stupid kid.

I cannot believe you called this unfortunate child a "Stupid kid". You have no problem with stating the dog did what nature designed him to do, but yet still you cannot see the same for a 3 yr old, who is supposed to be curious and not know that kind of danger. The only fault here lies with the parent or whoever was supposed to be supervising the child (If in fact there was no compromise to the zoo's protective barriers).

He was a baby! 3-yrs old. WTF is your problem.

The parent needs to be held accountable also.

Even if the dog was doing what natural for him, there is no reason to call this 3 year old who died, a brat or stupid. It is natural for a 3 year old to climb on things and be curious. Whether it was right or wrong, it was an accident. I would bet the mother, who may not have been paying attention to what was going on, is going through enough punishment by having watch her child die.

You have huge problems. This was a toddler, you jerk.

Children, like pets, belong on leashes.

i agree with you corewym this idiot b@$$tard should be shot for posting that,the kid is only 3 they should of thrown the mother in there with the dogs, if that was my kid... i know for sure! i would of jump in there to protect my child, even if the dogs attack me at least it would of gave the zoo employees time to save my child

I dont know what is more appalling... the fact that you refer to a three year old child as "stupid" and calling him/her a "brat" when the only information you have is that this child fell and was killed by a pack of wild dogs... OR the fact that 20 sick people voted for such is vile comment. I do know this...someday you and your family will experience tragic loss (not that I wish this upon you but because in life we all face tragedy)...and I hope that in your time of grieving you look back and remember these comments and how the people affected would have felt reading them.

put that [brat & stupid] in there to get a little attention...didn't he...[it worked]...

I'm sorry that we can't shoot you for such an a$$inign (sic) statement!

corewynn - The same can be said for people who can't spell and still refuse to use spell-check. Try "asinine", genius.

Can't think of nothing else to say scales67 so u use the spell check comment? Corewyn was saying that this person is an a$$, you know kind of like you, that is why it is spelled that way. Keep trolling on scales67.

I can't believe some of you are incensed that one dog shot. Perhaps, I don't know, they were trying to get to the child to see if he was still alive?

That's the big difference between me and members of PETA and the like - I have actually heard PETA members say that if they had to choose between saving a child and saving an animal, they wouldn't know which they would choose to save. I, however, am not so conflicted.

Hey guys,

Don't worry about what General Electric said. We should worry about his "parents". I mean after all, look what kind of kid "they" raised and he has the gall to call a 2 yr old kid that died "stupid".

I'll never understand why some people will come on here and post such moronic statements and think they're actually making friends. Guess that backs up my above statement about "his" parents. Lets just hope that he was the only accident.

The article didn't say that the child 'was unsupervised' which leads me to believe there is a lot more to this story (about just what the mother was doing - possibly 'helping' him up to the rail) than is revealed so far.

Exactly. But in the article it said people were screaming for help and calling for someone to do something. Did no one think to help that little boy? It's not like it was lions or tigers, if a few grown men jumped in, they could have possible stopped the mauling. I hope the little boy died instantly from the fall, getting mauled to death is worse than drowning or burning alive. His stupid mother... what a cun+.

That's what I'd like to know...how did anyone, whether parents were neglectful or not, manage to get in? Unfortunately children wander off in the blink of an eye; happens all the time. We don't know the circumstances here. So sad...

Yeah, kids do wander off in the blink of an eye, and I can't imagine what parent would not have been hyper cautious in this kind of circumstance. For the baby to fall, and then to fall into a wild dog pen is unthinkable.

When you take a child to the zoo you NEVER let go of his hand for 1 SECOND. Children have to be watched constantly at the zoo. If you have to go to the bathroom they come in the STALL with you. Zoos are fun but they are VERY DANGEROUS!

The platform is 14' above the exibit with a 4' high railing and mesh above the railing. Ive been there many times, the railing is chest height, made of smooth wood and the top part of the rail is angled toward the visitors.

Ive read reports that the mother lifted the boy to get a better view and he fell through the mesh. They dont know if he died from the fall or the attack.

No matter the details this was a tragic accident, and while it might be avoidable attacking anyone, especially the child is not the right thing to do.

True, there is the responsibility of the parents to consider. The Zoo, however, seems to have serious problems. No way anyone should be able to fall from an observation deck into the enclosure. The article also says "Last spring, nine of the 11 painted dogs escaped a section of their enclosure, causing a brief shutdown of the zoo."

No good!

I think GeneralEclectric is just a troll. He or she just wants a reaction. If this person is serious, than God help them because they have no soul....it was a terribly cruel, almost evil comment.

Children, like pets, belong on leashes. Why do we all have to suffer because too many parents think it's ok to inflict their children on all of us. Or worse yet, we all get our rights taken away to "protect the children." The latter is the parent's job...stop depriving me for your inadequacies. How restricted do you want a zoo to be to protect us from stupidity? Perhaps we'd be better off just banning children from zoos.

You are simply a moron. Another attention seeker using tragedy to compensate for the fact that you couldn't get a date to the prom or maybe your parents didn't like you very much and failed at their attempt to throw you into a pit of wild dogs. Regardless, you are pathetic.

Cassidy Erin:: Talk of someone being pathetic when you show that you are a very stupid subhumanoid. Yes, this was a tragedy but you had no business saying what you did about the person. I helped raise a little one and I would never have perched my niece on anything. You are the pathetic one-- and simply a moron.

try a leash on the kid next time. if you have a next time!

while they look a bit odd, they work!!

all you have to do is hold on to the end opposite the child. DUH!!!!

I truly think that if the parents sue, the zoo should counter-sue for the family causing them to lose a member of an endangered species. It's clearly the mother's fault -- now that additional information has been reported about her holding the child up on the rail -- and she should own the responsibility, not seek to blame the zoo.

It should not even be possible for a 3 year old, or anyone other than the keepers, to get into the exhibit.

Last spring, nine of the 11 painted dogs escaped a section of their enclosure, causing a brief shutdown of the zoo.

I'm pretty sure when nine of the 11 dogs escaped, it wasn't vertically up 14 feet to the observation deck. That factoid has no bearing on this incident.

SingBiker:: Last spring, nine of the dogs did get out-- dug their way out UNDER a section of fence. The kid DIDN'T dig his way under the section of fence to get into the enclosure. What is your reasoning for your stupid comment?

SUE AND get the insurance pay out????

seems better than las vegas.

and a 3 year old kid does not ''wander'' up and over a 11 foot or a 14 foot enclosure.

if the kid did the mother should/could have.

i know i would have been glad to give her a hand to get in there, where she belonged!!

feel sorry for the family? i don't. i think she knew exactly what she was doing. (maybe the father i feel sorry for) when you do stupid things -----stupid things happen.

exactly what part of a the tall, iron fence, a space barricade and wild animals did this 'mother' somehow fail to understand????

as for the mother wanting a photo op--------try photoshop, dumbbell!!!

seems tailor made just for such stupid parents.

While I want safe enclosures, to ask the zoo to take precautions(like netting) because a parent may be negligent, is not right at all. By doing so, you are removing the responsibility from the parents and then they get comfortable and that is how accidents like this usually happen. You can only do so much as the zoo...you can go above and beyond but the responsibility still lies with the parents. Even when you go to a zoo and the enclosures stink---as a parent, should you have your children there? No.

A zoo is like a circus: just another form of animal abuse.

Most animals there are dangerous because that's the thrill, it's like the romans going to the coliseum.

Too bad that a child had to pay for the zoo's inability to protect the people that go visit the zoo.

The zoo knows that people bring their children there and they know that parents would lift their children up if the child cannot see the animal.

The child doesn't understand how dangerous the animal is and most adults believe most animals are given something to tame their wild nature otherwise they couldn't keep them in the zoo.

I am all for holding the zoo accountable if the enclosure is found to be unsafe but the dogs getting out versus the kid falling in is a very different discussion. One was clearly not the fault of the zoo, no matter how shoddy the netting was or how badly placed the deck may have been. If it was that unsafe, most humans would avoid it.

Rose, This was a public place, open for commercial purposes. It is not the responsibility of each passerby to determine if a structure is shoddy. The commercial entity has an obligation and a duty to ensure that it is safe and to perform routine inspections to see that it remains so. Not all defects are visible to the naked eye; particularly absent a full inspection, which a casual consumer is not able to perform. A containment structure that allows animals out and small humans in is, on it's face, insufficient. Neither event should have been able to occur. The degree to which it is insufficient cannot be determined upon the facts presented, yet sufficient facts are evident that it was insufficient to keep the dogs in and, at least one, consumer out. They bear some liability on that basis. More importantly, it needs to be immediately addressed so that this tragedy does not recur.

I get that the animals have to be securely enclosed but as far as we know, they were. The previous incident about the animals getting out has nothing to do with this incident. I just find it crazy, if someone leans over the railing that is there to protect them and falls, they should be caught by a net? Come on. At some point personal responsibility overrides it all. Example. If I am in such a place, my kid's hand never leaves mine. If I cannot control them, I never go to a zoo where they might slip away and fall in. I would never depend on a net to keep them out. An adequate fence? Sure...but again, from my understanding, that was all there.

It IS the responsibility of every parent to supervise their own child. It's the parent's fault, plain and simple.

I like those little harnesses w/ the leash for the parent to hang on to. Kids that age, something catches their eye, they take off in a sprint & they're small enough to get in some tight places that are difficult for an adult to extract them from. Heck, just being in a crowd (of humans) they can get underfoot---sometimes almost literally---& get hurt. O.K., not likely to get killed that way, but I think you see my point.

RO MAR,

the dogs got out by digging under the fence!

the child did not get IN by digging under the fence.

how does a 3 year old climb a 11 foot or a 14 foot fence, unnoticed, by anyone? and just fall into a pit of wild animals. sorry, but human beings have an innate fear of high places and/or nothing beneath them at a very young age.

long before they are 3 years old.

if a 3 y ear old kid could climb a barrier fence then so can the mom. and she should have. and she didn't.

had that been my kid, you wouldn't have been able to keep me out of there and/or from picking up one animal and swinging it around and around to keep the other ones back.

sorry, but there is more going on here than just poor parenting!!!

seems someone was looking for a lawsuit and was not afraid to use their kid to do it.

and, unfortunately, it wouldn't be the first time we have seen this, would it?

While it is horribly sad that the child died in such a manner, I personally am more saddened that one of the African dogs had to die. These animals are extremely intelligent pack hunters stuck in a totally enclosed "exhibit" with inadequate mental stimulation (no matter how hard a zoo tries 'enrichment', it's not enough). If anything novel enters the enclosure, especially something that *falls* in totally unexpected, the innately curious animals will investigate; and being carnivores, they simply took advantage of the situation.

According to the IUCN Red List, there are about 6,500 African wild dogs in existence. 6,500 African wild dogs (and decreasing) vs 7 billion humans (and increasing). That single, totally avoidable death of the wild dog is a blow to that species. This article even states that "the mortality rate for painted pups is 50 percent, even when born in the wild to a healthy mother" and "It was only the second litter to be hand-raised in captivity".

No matter who is at 'fault', I feel bad for the human family who is grieving the child, and I am certain that the remaining wild dogs are grieving the loss of their family member. Actually, unless the zookeepers allowed the pack to view the body, they are probably confused and searching for the deceased dog.

At any rate, I hope that the rest of the wild dogs, at this zoo or elsewhere, do not suffer in any way due to this tragedy.

"African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) have disappeared from much of their former range. Their population is currently estimated at approximately 6,600 adults in 39 subpopulations, of which only 1,400 are mature individuals. Population size is continuing to decline as a result of ongoing habitat fragmentation, conflict with human activities, and infectious disease. Given uncertainty surrounding population estimates, and the species’ tendency to population fluctuations, the largest subpopulations might well number <250 mature individuals, thereby warranting listing as Endangered under criterion C2a(i)."

~iucnredlist.org

(unintentional comment, cannot delete)

PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID,

and you, oh bright one, could have been able to tell if the kid was dead from 20 or 30 or 50 feet away? really???? what is your cv for this? a hat, jacket and mittens on and lying face down, or covered in dirt or mud, you could divine this-------how? please tell us how you would have done this. what special powers you have. what special abilities you posess and how you came to acquire them.

i for one am all ears.

and THEN you would have decided to shoot to kill or shoot to tranquilize the nearest animal?

you know it takes awhile for the tranquiler to work, so ''the animal could have continued to do what animals do'', as in eat on the kid? chew on him and tear into him, the dog whipping his head back and forth trying to tear off a piece.

'oh what the hell, he was dead anyway'! right?

IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING??? IT SURE SEEMS SO.

the name you go by, 'people are so stupid', certainly seems strangely apropos in this case.

perhaps you might want to amend your earlier posting/s. but, as people ARE so stupid, you probably won't.

I am sorry but I do not think it is unfair to hold the parents responsible Amanda. Say your idea is what happened. Why would you take multiple children to the zoo and not have enough hands to watch them?

I'd be happy to go to the zoo with complete strangers to help them watch their kids so stories like this never happen. I had that much common sense as a young teenager when I was sent away from home because my family life was horrible. During my time at this facility, I was roomed with a small child after being there a bit---something the facility said they never did---to make room for a 10 year old girl who needed a home. I was asked to watch after that 10 year old at an amusement park during Halloween. You would have had to kill me to get her hand away from mine. Point is...some people are not made to have kids. Our life is too lax now. People pay more attention to their cell phones than their kids. McD's is dinner rather than a wholesome, healthy meal made at home. And people say life is hard and stressful? Bull. Imagine living without electricity and having to gather/hunt for every single calorie you eat. You're fighting for survival. Not worried about how your hair looks or the phone ringing. That was a hard life. Now we got it easy so what you end up with is people having children that either never learned the value of responsibility or they were never fit to have kids to begin with---but because life is easier for stupid people, those stupid people get to have kids. I hate to say it so harshly but it is the truth. I see it in my own family with my nieces and it is laughable.

Amanda-

This General Eclectic dude/ woman, whatever obviously has some major HATE issues in their life and we need to pray for this person because they are so heartless. How sad that someone could be this cruel by saying that this dead child is a brat and stupid. I take it that General Eclectic was a Perfect little Saint of a child when they were 3 and did nothing wrong ever. That or the parent of this person called him stupid and a brat growing up. So they automatically think that is how you treat children. I just pray this general eclectic never has kids if they have this attitude towards them.

100 Percent on the money ApacheRosePea00. The generation that is coming up is a generation that has had no supervision, friends instead of parents and now the world gets to pay the price as we find out that "time out" DID NOT WORK!!

Apache, with all due respect, how many children do you have?

amanda, zoo enclosures are constructed so that there is no convienient place for a parent to leave a child in a position to fall into the exhibits by leaving them briefly unattended. railings are almost always intentionally constructed to leave no comfortable place for someone to be perched and consequently if someone is on the rail it requires assistance to stay balanced there. if the child fell into the exhibit, i will lay you odds the choice by the mother to put the child there was obvious stupidity.

too bad the woman qualified for a darwin award by playing with the life of a child. oops, that's not right, her genes survived...

My heart goes out to this poor 2 year old child. What a horrific death. The mother should be brought up on charges. Period. I don't care how poorly the zoo built the surrounding enclosure. There is no excuse in the world for a mother to have not watched a two year old, much less according to the article have put him ON
THE RAILING to give him a better view. She should never be allowed to have custody of any other children and should be prosecuted. For anyone that has raised a child 24 hours a day, and has a brain in their head, for the love of god you know how to keep your 2-year old child from getting into an animal enclosure. Inexcusable. The animals are following their nature and it isn't their fault. They are wild. The child suffered horribly because his mother is negligent beyond comprehension.

As I said before, what happened may, in fact, be completely the mother's fault. Things are not always black and white. People make mistakes..people do things they shouldn't. Sometimes people realize immediately that they did something stupid and other times you look back and talk about all the stupid things you've done in life. Parents aren't perfect and parents make mistakes. It's easy to say how dumb that mom is, especially if you don't have children.

I don't think it's right to jump on the mother and be so judgmental. First of all, we don't know the entire story. Second of all, if she did make a stupid mistake, her son dying was an accident, a horrible accident.

I used to be so judgmental in my late teens and thought everything was black and white. Then I wised up and realized life isn't that way. There's a lot of gray areas and there should also be a lot of compassion.

Not one person reading this is perfect. If you were going 10 miles over the speed limit, crashed and died, do you really think it's reasonable for everyone to say "Well, he was going 10 miles over the speed limit...how stupid is he...didn't deserve to live anyways."

This situation needs more compassion and less judgment. That's all I'm trying to say.

I make mistakes all the time...never one that even came CLOSE to taking the life of another.

There is quite a bit of conjecture here on these post comments. However; if you read this article as well as the later article (that states the child's autopsy showed that the death was do to mauling and not the fall), it specifically states the mother put the child on top of the rail that is a 4 feet high barrier, and the drop into the enclosure was 14 feet down. The article says the child "tumbled" down into the safety mesh below, but due to his size, bounced twice on the mesh and then down into the exhibit.

This was not a case of a child wandering away, or being unsupervised so as to be able to climb the barrier (it states it slopes out towards the visitors, making it seem impossible for a small child to hold onto the top of the barrier and pull himself up or climb up on top of it.). I doubt a leash would have been sufficient, as if the child fell, his weight probably would have pulled the leash from the mother's hand(s).

I agree, tragic. I can't see condemning this mother more than I assume she is already doing to herself. Can't imagine how hard it will be for her to sleep or wake up with all the pain, loss and guilt. The father will be blaming her too. She is in a world of hurt that she will never get over. In one moment she wanted her child to enjoy seeing the dogs, the next she watched him suffer a horrible death. Even though she did a stupid thing, her hearts intent was nothing but love. Now she will pay with this mistake the rest of her life. She will need counseling, not people hating her.

FORTYFIVE

and you know this wasn't intentional, how????

tragic for the kid. i agree. but tragic for the mother??? perhaps she had this as a plan. to collect insurance money. and/or sue the zoo. we have seen more than a few mothers kill their kids in the usa as of late. and they were all planned. whether the lemack woman in naperville, ill about 12 years ago, susan smith, or the knit-whit in houston! the list goes on, and on, and on, and on!!!!

the fact this could have been intentional can not be over looked.

so save your tears and sympathy for the mother until more is known.

for the kid, it is vey sad.

i have been in his shoes----- almost.

my mother tried to kill me when i was 5 years old. it was august and i just could not master getting the honey on the knife with out getting it on the jar and table, myself, etc.

so i got a glass milk bottle smashed over my head. it broke into a thousand pieces. i wasn't hurt except i feared my mother from then on. and loved her less and less each and every year there after. she could/would never apologised to me. even 50 years later, when i asked her to, she told me ''you deserved it, you were acting up''.

she died a few years back. all i said, was, ''Good! she will never be able to hurt me again."

even when telling this story to nurses i worked with, ala 2006, some of them asked me ''what were you doing?" as if smashing a glass milk bottle over a kids head is somehow justifiable!! (and the glass milk bottles in 1955 were really, really THICK! and THANKFULLY SO WAS MY HEAD!)

can you immagine, nurses, in the last decade, asking what were you doing for your mother to do that???

i was as dumbfounded as could be anyone, let alone nurses, women, would ask such a question.

what could any kid do to justify such an attack, that certainly could have killed him? i can't think of a thing. and it is something i have thought about since the 1980's.

and i still can't come up with a good answer.

i never had kids. i was way to afraid i would loose my temper and do to them one of the things that was done to me and my brothers and sister.

THE only way i could make sure none of that ever happened was to not have children.

i regret having to make that decision.

but it was the right decision. i could never be sure, 100% sure, i would always be able to control myself, in every situation.

so i never had children. to keep them safe.

and now, that i am in my 60's, i wish it were different. i wish there had been other option available to me. i didn' t have the money for a full time nanny. and yes, i did therapy.

but in a split second you can do something that is unforgivable and i just never could be sure i wouldn't do something stupid like that out of anger.

now, starting a family, in my 60's? i think about it. i have the money. and the patience (i think. i am pretty sure.). and hopefully the understanding. but, we don't really need more people on this earth? but i do think about it. more and more, it seems.

guess i need to make a desision soon. for some reason the urge is getting stronger and stronger. so i will have to see what happens.

it is an interesting quesion.

Yours is a truly tragic story and your pain at what your mother did to you is obviously as if she just did it today. May you find peace at some point and know that there are people who would want to show you that there is love in this world, despite the one you wanted the most to love you, betrayed you. Do not feel that you are flawed because your mother rejected you...She is the one who was flawed.

That being said, I think to be fair, your mother's act was one of deliberate intent to harm you, while this mother's appears to be one of poor judgement and irresponsibility. Please do not short-change yourself and all others by thinking the worst of people.

I think you best wake up. Some parents allow these things to happen accidentally on purpose. I guess you do not read the same news I do. What about the couple that left the child's door open while they kept a boa constrictor loose in the house. It killed the child and everyone felt sorry for the parents - who, thankfully, were charged with murder eventually. I think this parent should be investigated - not felt sorry for - at least not yet.

Corewynn:

You're awfully defensive and in an awfully big hurry to stop anyone from investigating situations where there may have been child abuse. You don't even want anyone to say out loud that in an unexpected child death, child abuse is one of the possibilities that must be considered.We have laws that mandate investigations of possible abuse when a child dies unexpectedly.

I would think any good citizen would want an investigation to pinpoint the true cause, in a case where a child died an unnatural death.So you don't ever want anyone to suggest child abuse exists,is that it? And anyone who does,is "stupid" and "should know better as an adult" according to you.Right?

Be a little less obvious about not ever wanting anyone to investigate possible child abuse,please.Right now,"Methinks (you) doth protest too much."

I'd like to know if there was an insurance policy on the kid, and for how much! I don't put sh!t past humans anymore - especially when it comes to greed.

The parents may now try to sue as well. We all know parents will kill their own kids.

How can you NOT watch a todler at all times - at a zoo? My heart goes out to the OTHER parent, since the one with the kid had more important things to do - at a zoo!

If this was an act to get money from a life insurance policy, this seems to be a rather risky way to do it with so many people there who could see what happened, and the fact that the child was put on top of the barrier deliberately from which he fell.

The zoo will probably make changes to the security system they had in place which past inspection (hind sight is fore sight), but it is extremely difficult to imagine that the mother would not be held responsible for putting her child at risk.

If I am holding I child, I am holding on with a death grip over such an exhibit or I am not holding the kid over the exhibit. Maybe I should be more respectful but I am sorry. I can't be. I'm tired of seeing countless kids die because their parents made moronic mistakes. If you can't watch your kid like a hawk until they are old enough to know better, do not have children. It is really not that difficult to watch after a child---and have them listen/respect your voice.

It is good to hear from someone who has been to to the exhibit and knows about the netting. But come on, you don't let your baby anywhere near that kind of danger, you certainly don't go to the very edge for a closer look.

It is difficult to judge... please remember that the animals just look like dogs. You think "why are these dogs so different and interesting?" They are not running around growling and snapping at you. In fact, I never take my kids to the exhibit b/c I think it is pretty dumb (just my opinion). I can see dogs at my mother's house! LOL

I believe that this exhibit is under review not only because of this incident but earlier this year several of them escaped the exhibit (no one was hurt).

As a whole, I think we do need to remember that "zoo animals" are not as tame as the may appear. I would think that dogs that are getting fed as much as they need would not attack so quickly and fiercely to something that falls into the cage. Zoo employees always talk about how the animals seem to know when are where their food comes and are happy about it. It is a big wake up call to the world and I am sorry that it would ever have to happen.

Shelly,

Kind of nervous about people acknowledging that "parents" sometimes cause a child's death,aren't you? Kind of overstepping your boundaries by demanding everyone on this board is ONLY allowed to think this was an accident in which the parents were completely blameless, and that no one here is allowed to write a post questioning whether the "mother" was grossly negligent or gave the child a little help getting into the pen,aren't you? Kind of overstepping them again by saying you "are sure" that you know how the mother's mind works and that she will feel remorse for the rest of her life,aren't you?

I don't know what happened here,but anyone who is any kind of mother at all would have jumped in after her baby.Not everyone who gives birth is a mother,and most people know that so good luck trying to silence everybody who wants to consider ALL possibilities.

The child died because of the parent's irresponsibility...If a driver isn't paying attention and runs over your child/children...do you promise to forget the child's suffering/your loss if the driver feels really, really bad about it....

You know, like how this mother feels really, really bad about her irresponsibility resulting in the horrific death of her own child.

Shelly:: The netting may very well have been adequate to pass code and safety inspections. But no netting is made-- unless it is chain link fencing-- that will keep a child from falling into a pit. And don't say that the little one climed up to look over at the "doggies". If he had, it would have taken at least a minute for him to reach the top and the mother should have had enough time to grab the child and get him down. The poor kid-- and the poor "doggy"-- paid a price for someones inattentiveness.

John C_1...hopefully you will shoot yourself in the process. I feel sorry for the dog too, and any living animal that gets hurt. Animals over humans any day.

JohnC_1...I agree with you 100%.

ApacheRose...what's wrong with you that you FEEL JUST AS BAD about a dog dying and a child dying? There's nothing wrong with loving animals but it's RIDICULOUS to put ANY animal on the same level as a person. You're sick.

I concur with ApacheRose...I actually feel WORSE about the poor dog.

To everyone who commented against me...clearly you are not as intelligent or humane as you would like to think. Why do I feel worse for the dog? Because humans are supposedly the most intelligent life form on this Earth. And it is because that same supposedly intelligent life form---no matter how you want to look at the problem---that the dog had to die. Be it a shoddy zoo, be it bad parenting, be it caging wild animals that were never meant to be caged for our ENJOYMENT, etc. It all comes back to us---humans. That is why I feel sorry for the dog. Because the dog was following his instinct. Holy cow---if only we did that and not all the other extra crap we humans do, this Earth would be an amazing place to live...there are billions of us and we outnumber almost every single species on this planet. We're killing them and we're killing ourselves. If you cannot see how crazy that is feel sorry for the kid who also died because of a HUMAN. Not a dog.

John C...wants to break the law and spend time in jail just to combat a comment I made? And Amanda agrees with him? And corewynn then tells people are so stupid that he should shoot himself...so intelligent people can live on. Funny. I see no intelligence in breaking the law, agreeing with breaking the law, or telling someone to kill themselves because you can't handle the truth.

You all missed it. Humans caused this entire problem. Never the dog. Not the kid. I never said the dog was more important than the kid. I said the there was no reason to kill the dog because of a human problem.

ApacheRose, I agree with you, I feel bad for both the poor child and for the painted dog. I'm sure this terrible accident could have been avoided if the person caring for this child was more careful. It's awful that any living thing has to die because of carelessness. I pray mostly that the child died before the dogs attacked him.

sorry, arp. it is possible the kid could still have been alive and saved if they got to him. in that case the dog had to be sacrificed although it was unfortunate. if the child had died while they waited for the dog to be coaxed away that would have been even more tragic.

if a hunter is in the woods and is attacked and killed by his prey, i can't feel sorry for him. if the animal dies because it killed a hunter, i'd feel sorry for the animal. this situation is different. the death of the child and the dog are on the head of the mother, but the dog in this situation was a justifiable sacrifice.

Thank you for stating what no one else seemed to get...the child might have lived, most certainly wouldn't have if the animal had not been shot.

For those who didn't read the article, the mother put the child on the rail and lost hold of him/her. These barriers are waist high on most adults, so the child couldn't have climbed it on their own. (I live in Pittsburgh and go to the zoo fairly often with my grandkids)

And there is a father, he got there a short while later. FYI, folks, it doesn't take 2 parents to take a kid to the zoo.

Hopefully, it is not a bit more sinister than that!

even if it was alive, that is what tranquilizers are for. No need to kill another innocent creature. People aren't endangered, these dogs are. once they are gone, they are GONE. That will never happen with people and all their breeding and breeding.

ABSOLUTELY, John C. It's hard to believe that there are people who value the life of a viscious primitive wild animal over the life of a human child. And people so cowardly and selfish they won't take any risk themselves to save someone else.

Okay- so I was there today. First off, the zoo was JUST inspected and up to all safety codes two months ago. Second, this exhibit has high railings that aren't really climbable, and only ONE open area in front of this railing. Under it, there is a net so the dogs cannot jump up. All the signs tell you the nature of the dogs. What moron would think it was smart to lift their child up onto that ledge? Two possible scenarios- the child got away, and somehow had enough time to climb it, and NO ONE saw him do it. The zoo was packed today, because there was a kidney foundation event there. Ergo, no one was watching him if so. Scenario two- said parent lifted him up to see better, and let him sit on the edge/held him on shoulders (that's unlikely due to the ceiling height) and then he fell over. Judgement error. No, total lack of ANY judgement. The zoo should not be at fault for this. There are other events you can touch, but have signs EVERYWHERE (take the sea lions- one side is open to where if you really TRIED you could touch THEM, but there are signs that say don't- they bite.) Just like this exhibit informed you they are WILD ANIMALS AND ARE HUNTERS.

JerryB---there are 7 billion humans. Not so many wild primitive animals anymore---no matter what species you want to choose---many are endangered. I value them more than you and people like John C. because without them, I'm dead. With too many humans, I'm dead. Living with such wild animals would also be a lot easier than living with a bunch of humans who see the life that sustains them as wild and primitive. Again, without them, we're all dead so they are just as important as any human, if not more so because we've over populated the Earth anyway.

ApacheRose; a woman after my own heart. People just don't get it.

Indeed, specie-centrism at its finest.

people are so stupid, tranquilizers can take time to take effect. The cop wanted to stop the dog attack now, in hopes of getting to the kid while he was still alive & could be saved; s/he couldn't know for sure in that split second judgement call whether or not the toddler was still alive or not.

John C:: You would have jumped in to save the child? If I am not mistaken, there were a number of the animals. You might have been able to handle one critter but as many as there were I seriously doubt if you could have done much of anything. They have the pack mentality-- while you were concentrating on one or two, the others would attack from the rear. That is how pack animals take down larger animals in the wild.

Then you die trying. I would rather be mauled by 100 dogs than live like a coward. That mother is a degenerate piece of filth who at that very moment decided that her life was more valuable than the life of her baby.

cory1980 she may have been paralyzed by shock. Or maybe she decided she was sick of the little bugger and tossed him over the railing like a piece of kibble. Who knows in this crazy day and age.

she managed to get her kid killed and one of the animals, good job mom !!!

I'd prefer they shoot the mom. It's a zoo for Christ sake. The animal is supposed to be in the cage. It's not doing anything out of the ordinary. You don't annihilate an endangered species because mom put the kid over the banister and allowed him to fall into the cage.

Stupid people being stupid people again. Why not just take the kid to the Grand Canyon and place the kid on the banister overlooking a cliff? Then blame the canyon for it. My God.

Thank you, Tiffany Elizabeth, for giving an eyewitness report on how this exhibit is set up and designed with safety measures to protect the visitors. If one sees wild animals with a high barrier between you and the open area down below, one can assume that these animals pose a threat of harm to humans. There were glassed walls on either side of the deck...Why can't a child look through the glass where it is safe? These animals are wild, not part of a a petting zoo, for goodness sake!

John C_1

How about NOT going to the zoo? If you do, and you're stupid enough to put your kid at risk, past barriers and warning signs, then not hold on tight........shid, just don't go to the dam zoo, ok?

Maybe the zoo should put the fenses around people, since some of us are incredibly stupid.

Even the animals must say about humans: WTF were they thinking? And they call US dumb....