While writing our zoo mystery, Death Roll, we did a lot of research on animals escaping from zoo enclosures. Some are comical, but some end in tragedy, usually with the animal’s death.Yesterday an endangered Amur (Siberian) tiger escaped its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo. The tiger killed a young man and injured two others before police shot and killed her. Our sympathies go out to everyone involved in this tragedy.

Sadly, the press finds it necessary to sensationalize these sad events, digging into their archives for similar stories, and digging up so-called experts who have no more knowledge of what happened than the reporters. When the truth becomes less interesting than the fiction, they'll quickly move on to the next story without correcting any of the misconceptions they've created.

If the news is not enough entertainment for you, read the comments posted to CNN.com. One reader suggested the tiger should have been put down last year after it bit an animal keeper. Once an animal tastes human blood, he warned, it becomes a maneater. Guess I should have paid more attention to those old Tarzan reruns. Others use this tragedy as proof that zoos are bad places. Animals deserve to live free in their natural environment. I couldn't agree more. In a perfect world, wouldn’t that be fantastic? The sad truth is the reason most animals are on the brink of extinction is loss of habitat. As we said in "Death Roll", zoos are often a species last chance for survial.

Fox 9 News reported there’s some evidence the tiger may have been teased and taunted before her escape. A couple of years ago at an accredited zoo in the Midwest, a young man thought it was funny to tease a tiger. He had been spotted doing this on previous visits and had been warned by staff. On this occasion the tiger had a warning of his own. In an unusual feat of agility and strength, the tiger scaled the fence to within a few feet of the barbed wire and electrically charged barrier at the top. Staff reacted immediately. The young man (or idiot, if you'd prefer)was marched off zoo grounds, never to be allowed inside the zoo again. The tiger was put in holding until another zoo could be found to house him. The zoo was taking no chances.

Animals will always escape from enclosures. AZA accredited zoos are consistently concerned for the safety of their animals, the employees that care for them and the millions of visitors who visit each year. Until this recent attack, no visitor to an AZA accredited zoo has died due to an animal escaping it’s enclosure.

Holidays at the Zoo

This year don’t forget the zoo when you’re planning your holidays. Zoos around the country are festive, fun and educational. There are light displays and special events throughout the month of December and on into the new year.

The Indianapolis Zoo has set up a landscape of Christmas towns and villages in the conservatory, where “O” and “G” sized model trains travel throughout the day. The Toledo Zoo in Ohio celebrates “The Lights Before Christmas” with over a million lights and an 85-foot Norway Spruce that’s been decorated with 32,0000 lights. Or how about the Holidoze at the Philadelphia Zoo? Spend an overnight with your family in the Children’s Treehouse and learn how animals play a part in our holiday traditions.

After the holidays, when those pine needles start to fall, before chucking the tree in the dumpster check to see if you’re local zoo or animal sanctuary would like to help you recycle that real tree. Christmas trees can provide valuable enrichment for zoo animals. They’re fun for the animals and fun for the zoo’s visitors to watch.

And if you’re still looking for the perfect gift for that hard to buy person, how about adopting an animal at their favorite zoo? Adoption programs usually come with a gift of a stuffed animal, information on the animal and updates on how they’re doing. You’ll be buying a gift that will ensure the continuance of the zoo's conservation programs and as there’s nothing to break or throw away, it’s gentle on the environment, too.

Wild Fire Survival

This photo has circulated around the internet for some time, but in view of the recent fires in California, seems more dramatic than ever. While the loss of lives and property due to a wildfire is tragic, what happens to the animals caught in the path of these fires?

Animals are often more resourceful and resilient than most people think. While some animals die, most often from suffocation, most wild animals have the survival skills necessary to avoid a tragedy.

Birds, of course, can fly to a safe location. As most fires take place during the last summer or fall, breeding season has past and most no longer have nests or fledglings to protect. Larger animals are usually able to stay ahead of a fire. Even the largest of fires rarely moves faster than two miles an hour, and most fires don’t burn evenly across a landscape. Animals can either walk away or find refuge in areas untouched by the fire. When fire struck Yellowstone National Park in 1988 the loss of large mammals killed was relatively small. According to one report, five bison, one black bear, two moose, four deer, and two hundred forty-five elk died, surprising in a fire that covered almost 1.5 million acres.

Smaller animals often find shelter below ground, bunkering down in burrows or other cavities. Even flightless insects will burrow into the upper soil. No matter how hot it is above ground, the temperature just a few inches below the surface remains unchanged. Small animals that make nests of sticks and other dry vegetation above ground level or in the understory of trees, often don’t fare as well.

Unfortunately, some of the worst damage associated with fires is caused by people working fire control. Firebreaks can cause long-term habitat degradation. Fire retardants can poison fish and other aquatic creatures. Low-flying aircraft, noisy earth moving equipment and fire fighters often inadvertently confuse animals trying to escape. In fact, a report on the Yellowstone fire estimated about a hundred of the large mammals listed as dying during the fire died as a result of collisions with fire-fighting vehicles.

Inca Dove's North Shore Vacation

Inca doves are common in the southwestern United States. They thrive in an area that stretches from Central America to the American Southwest. That range does not include any part of Minnesota. So it was a really big deal when Jim Lind spotted one at his neighbor's bird feeder on Oct. 30 in Two Harbors. Since then at least 100 birders have made the trek for a glimpse of the first ever Inca dove reported in Minnesota.

The bird, which has orange on its wings, is a small bird; comparable in size to a sparrow. One of its more odd behaviors is that of pyramid roosting. Pairs or groups will huddle together in the sunshine, with some sitting on the back of the others. The pyramid may be three layers high and include up to 12 birds.