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Physicist Calculates Trajectory of Tiger At SF Zoo

KentuckyFC writes "Is it really possible for a 350-pound tiger to leap a 12.5-foot barrier from 33 feet away? (Said another way: a 159-kg tiger, a 3.8 m barrier, and 10 m away.) A physicist at Northeastern University has done the math, a straightforward problem in ballistics, and the answer turns out to be yes (abstract on the physics arXiv). But I guess we already knew that following the death of Carlos Souza at the paws of Tatiana, a Siberian Tiger he had allegedly been taunting at San Francisco zoo at the end of last year."

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  1. The whole "taunting" thing pisses me off by netsavior · · Score: 0, Troll

    I am sorry to the furbies out there, but I don't give a crap if the guy tied a steak around his neck and pissed into the tiger's mouth. He was not on an african safari, he was not approaching a wild mountain lion. He was at a fzcking zoo - a place that should be "taunt-proof". The news media constantly paints this thing like it is his fault, which is just insane. A tiger escaped and killed someone. Unless the mans actions were "He taunted the tiger by opening the secure door to his cage with bolt cutters" then the man's actions should NOT come into scrutany.

    It's a bit like blaming the rape victim for wearing a short skirt.