Investigators were combing San Francisco zoo on Wednesday to find out how a 136kg tiger with a record of attacking humans managed to escape from its cage, kill one man and badly maul two others.

Siberian Tiger

When the animal resumed its attack on the man, the officers crept closer. Their movement caught the tiger's eye, and she began to move towards them. All four officers opened fire with their handguns, hitting the cat several times and killing it. It was then that they noticed a third man had been mauled.

The zoo was evacuated and the injured men, who are thought to have been friends of the dead man, were taken to San Francisco hospital.

A spokesperson described their condition on Wednesday as critical but stable. John Brown, a doctor at the hospital, told Good Morning America the pair, aged 19 and 23, had suffered deep bites and claw slashes to their heads, hands, arms and necks.

"These injuries are severe, but they are very treatable," he said. "These two gentlemen seem to be in good health, so I think they have a good chance."

Although no further visitors were let in to the zoo after 5pm on Christmas Day, officials said that there were between 20 and 25 people still on site when the attacks happened. Police helicopters hovered over the area shining searchlights around the zoo while ambulances stood by.

"There was no way out through the door," Jenkins said. "The animal appears to have climbed or otherwise leapt out of the enclosure."

"This is a tragic event for San Francisco," said Ken Smith of the city's fire department. "We pride ourselves on our zoo, and we pride ourselves in tourists coming and looking at our city."

It emerged that Tatiana had attacked a keeper on December 22 last year. The tiger reached through the bars of its cage, clawing and biting the worker, who was left with badly lacerated arms. The zoo's lion house was closed during an investigation.

California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health blamed the zoo for that assault and imposed an $18 000 fine. A medical claim filed against the city by the worker was turned down.

The incident prompted the zoo to rethink safety. It fitted customised steel mesh over the bars of cages, built in a feeding chute and increased the distance between the public and the cats to prevent any further attacks.

Tatiana arrived at San Francisco zoo from Denver zoo a few years ago. Zoo officials hoped she would mate with a male Siberian tiger called Tony.

There are five tigers at the zoo: three Sumatrans and two Siberians. Officials at first worried that four tigers had escaped, but they soon learned that only one had left its pen, a police spokesperson said.

Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, said in a statement: "A thorough investigation is being undertaken to uncover all the facts and understand how this tragedy could have occurred."

Siberian tigers, also know as Amur tigers, are the largest cats in the world. Males can grow to be seven feet long and weigh as much as 270kg.

They are also an endangered species: there may be as few as 400 of the animals living in the wild in Russia, China and North Korea.

Although a hungry tiger can eat 30kg of meat at one sitting, they rarely become man-eaters, preferring wild boar, deer, rabbits and even salmon. Those that attack humans usually do so only because they are ill or cannot hunt normally.

According to San Francisco zoo's website, the tigers there are fed with fortified horsemeat.

The zoo, normally open 365 days a year, was closed yesterday as police and investigators swept the area.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

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