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Source/Letters: Rocky Mountain News <letters @ RockyMountainNews.com> (close spaces) Link: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5378124,0 0.html Zoo visitors mourn loss of jaguar, zookeeper By Julie Poppen, Rocky Mountain News February 25, 2007 Parents struggled Sunday to find ways to tell their children about the fatal mauling of a zookeeper at the Denver Zoo a day earlier. "I just told him the cats can¹t come out and play today," said Denver dad Justin Silverstein, 31, Sunday talking about how he explained the cat¹s absence to his 2-year-old son. Jorge, the 6-year-old male jaguar that attacked the zookeeper, was his son Cooper¹s favorite zoo animal. The family comes to the zoo once or twice a week. Cooper is often found clutching a stuffed jaguar named Baby Jag. The family especially loved watching Jorge pace in his cage and make barking sounds, which Cooper liked to imitate. "We are very sad both for the person and the cat," Silverstein said. Rescuers shot and killed Jorge, who arrived at the zoo from the Santa Cruz Zoo in Bolivia in 2005. While the investigation is ongoing, the zoo has opted to close the zoo¹s two feline buildings, which feature seven exhibits. The woman¹s name has not been released. It¹s the first fatal animal attack at the zoo. A small memorial accumulated at the front entrance to the zoo featuring candles and floral bouquets. Grief counselors were on hand to assist employees. "This is the worst day in Denver Zoo history at least to me," zoo spokeswoman Tiffany Barnhart said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> Contacts: Mayor John W. Hickenlooper Denver City and County Building 1437 Bannock Street, Suite 350 Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 720-865-9000 Fax: 720-865-8787 E-mail: MileHighMayor @ ci.denver.co.us Clayton Freiheit, President and CEO Ana Bowie, Spokeswoman Tiffany Barnhart, Spokeswoman Denver Zoo 2300 Steele Street Denver, CO 80205-4899 http://denverzoo.org/ Phone: (303) 376-4800 Fax: (303) 376-4801 For news media questions: tbarnhart @ denverzoo.org For web site and general information questions: zooinfo @ denverzoo.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> This is distibuted for nonprofit research and educational purposes only. [Ref.http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html] You are invited to read past articles and alerts, subscribe, or unsubscribe or email with subject "subscribe" or "unsubscribe." BushWatchersNews: http://groups-beta.google.com/groups?q=bushwatchernews&start=0&scoring=d AnimalVoicesAlerts:http://groups-beta.google.com/group/AnimalVoicesAlerts AnimalVoicesNews: http://groups-beta.google.com/group/AnimalVoicesNews
