SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - The San Francisco Zoo has dealt with tragedy in recent years related to its tiger exhibit, but on Monday good news prevailed.

Zoo officials had previously announced plans to resume a popular big cat feeding show today, but then said Monday that they’d have to hold off because they discovered that their 4-year-old Sumatran tiger, Leanne, was pregnant.

Spokeswoman Lora LaMarca said the feedings would bring too much noise into the Lion House where Leanne is expected to give birth in two to three weeks. A typical gestation period for a Sumatran tiger is just more than three months.

The animal baby announcement was the second that the zoo made Monday. A zookeeper arrived at work Monday morning to find the newest resident of the zoo, a baby giraffe, had made its long drop into the world, LaMarca said.

Giraffes give birth standing up, which is a drop of about 6 feet. Nature designed them that way to kind of give the baby a shock, LaMarca said. Giraffes stand up immediately so they can escape predators in the wild.

Zookeepers are keeping a close eye on the baby girl, which looked strong Monday but didn’t immediately feed. If the unnamed calf doesn’t nurse from her mother, Gezi, soon, the zoo will resort to bottle feeding, LaMarca said.

“We try to avoid it, and this is an experienced mom, but the baby has to eat,” she said.

In 2006, a tiger mauled a zookeeper, and in December, the same tiger escaped its enclosure, killing a teenager and mauling two of his friends.

bbegin@examiner.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

5:35 PM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Commission: Zoo should switch focus"

Examiner Reader said:
�Improvements in animal exhibits will drive attendance up (and therefore zoo revenue) more than any other project,� according to the report. -- Well duh!! I don't believe anyone from the zoo has ever said the exhibits are perfect and do not need improvement. Many of the exhibits were built in the late 30's and early 40's and are in dire need of improvement. The big question is -- Where is the money going to come from?!! The City will need to pony up a boatload of money to make all the improvements needed. I don't see that happening anytime soon. In the meantime, the SFZS is doing a great job with the pittance they are getting from the City.

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8:07 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Commission: Zoo should switch focus"

Enough! said:
What are Bolbol's credentials? She speaks (and speaks and speaks and speaks - Ms. Limelight) like an authority which obviously she is NOT! Enough already! What is her agenda?

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8:40 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008 re: "Commission: Zoo should switch focus"

Examiner Reader said:
The Animal Activists always have an anti-zoo sentiment and will use any incident to take away the one we have in San Francisco . The money it would take to redesign the zoo into a rehab center, plus hiring of expert rehab specialists, would be better off spent improving our zoo. The San Francisco zoo is a lovely place to visit and many citizens to not want to lose it. Let's just make it better.

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3:22 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008 re: "Commission: Zoo should switch focus"

Time To Hold Zoo Accountable said:
The Zoo wasted tens of millions of dollars on fancy entrance, conference centers, cafes, concessions and most of the animals are left in cramped, old exhibits. It's time to take care of the animals - good for those who are trying to help the animals - they need all the help they can get. The zoo rep needs to spend a few weeks in the hippo exhibit (yes, that means eating and defecating in the same area) and see how it feels.

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1:27 PM MST on Sun., Feb. 10, 2008 re: "Zoo experts to analyze safety measures"

Enough! said:
That's enough already from mouthy "critic" Deniz Bolbol! How many "yes" votes?

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11:11 PM MST on Sat., Jan. 5, 2008 re: "S.F. Zoo to reopen with new security measure in place"

Examiner Reader said:
IF these two drunken idiots who provoted the tiger sue the zoo THEN I think the family of the boy who was killed needs to then sue them for that money, be rewarded every penny of it and then take that money and donate it to the zoo to help rebuild animal habitats that are updated and safer.

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5:25 PM MST on Thu., Jan. 3, 2008 re: "S.F. Zoo to reopen with new security measure in place"

Knot2brite said:
I think maybe the zoo should keep current Director Manuel Mollinedo and fire the offensive co-ordinator!

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12:35 PM MST on Thu., Jan. 3, 2008 re: "S.F. Zoo to reopen with new security measure in place"

Juan Pescadino said:
"If zoo security ain't worth a dime, Mollinedo should do time." (from previous Examiner Reader comment). Hey, I like that. It makes sense to go after the money maker. I think I'm gonna wait til we find out more about the zoo before I go back with my kids. Too much risk.

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11:51 AM MST on Thu., Jan. 3, 2008 re: "S.F. Zoo to reopen with new security measure in place"

48 born in sf, kids in Zoo Camp all week prior, said:
Okay so thanks to the drunk idiots, the zoo ( us ) are going to pay for the new rules in many ways not just money... next time some fool idiots yell at the WILD ANIMALS they should be behind bars ( they endanger our lives everyday...

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10:30 AM MST on Thu., Jan. 3, 2008 re: "S.F. Zoo to reopen with new security measure in place"

Examiner Reader said:
Close the zoo and put Mollinedo behind bars. The zoo and its director run an operation that is unsafe for the four legged inhabitants as well as the two legged ones who come to view them. "If zoo security ain't worth a dime, Mollinedo should do time."

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