Jun 6, 2008 8:22 pm US/Pacific
SF Zoo Director Quits 6 Months After Tiger Attack
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ―
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Visitors at the San Francisco Zoo.
AP
The executive director and president of the San Francisco Zoo resigned late Friday, nearly six months after a Christmas Day tiger attack killed a teenager and injured two others.
Manuel Mollinedo's resignation came following a closed-door meeting Thursday of the San Francisco Zoological Society's board of directors.
It also occurred just days after autopsy results were released for 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. of San Jose, who was mauled to death by the tiger last December.
Mollinedo and zoo staff were criticized after the tiger escaped from its pen —killing Sousa and injuring two brothers, 19-year-old Amritpal and 23-year-old Kulbir Dhaliwal.
After the maulings, it was revealed that there was potentially inadequate separation between the tiger habitat and zoo visitors. The wall surrounding the tiger's enclosure was found to be 4 feet lower than recommended industry standards.
Sousa's parents and the Dhaliwal brothers have all filed claims against the city of San Francisco in connection with the attack.
Mollinedo was hired to run the San Francisco Zoo in early 2004, after working to revitalize the Los Angeles Zoo for eight years as its director.
Molliendo and his wife, Marilyn, intend to retire in the Bay Area, said zoo spokeswoman Gwendolyn Tornatore.
The zoo's board said in its statement that it "greatly appreciates his efforts and wishes him well in his retirement."
A member of the board, Tanya McVeigh Peterson, has been appointed as interim director until a replacement is found.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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