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The
11-year-old boy who was killed by two polar bears at the Prospect Park
Zoo in Brooklyn Tuesday night entered the enclosure on a dare, the
police said yesterday.
The boy, Juan
Perez, and two companions had dared each other to go swimming in the
moat bordering the polar bear den. According to park officials, their
presence was the most recent of frequent intrusions after hours into the
zoo by youths who climb the fences surrounding the zoo and congregate
on the grounds.
When the police
responded to reports of screams at the zoo, they found the two bears -
each over 8 feet and weighing more than 900 pounds - tussling over the
boy's body and fired 20 shotgun blasts to kill them. The shootings
caused numerous calls to the police yesterday by animal lovers.
Capt.
Michael Julian, a police spokesman, said the boys initially intended to
go to the seal pool in a nearby enclosure after scaling an outside
fence near the Flatbush Avenue entrance before 7 P.M. Bears Confront
Child
But
on a dare from one of them, they went to the bear cage where they
intended to go wading in the moat that is just inside the enclosure
where the bears were sleeping. Captain Julian refused to identify the
companions, who are 10 and 11, or to say which one initially issued the
dare. Captain Julian gave this account: The boys took off their pants
and shoes. Juan threw the clothes over the fence into the lair and
climbed over a high spiked fence separating the bears' enclave from the
public viewing area.
Juan and one
companion then entered the area near the 10-foot-wide moat. The two
animals, apparently awakened by what they considered to be intruders,
clambered down a rocky cliff toward the moat, where one lunged at Juan,
dragged him into the den and engaged in a tug-of-war over the body
before being shot with 12-gauge shotguns and a .38-caliber revolver.
Illegal Entries at Zoo
Only minutes
after the youths entered the cage, security guards who had been on the
lookout for people who intrude into the zoo after hours were due to
patrol the area, said Henry J. Stern, the city's Parks Commissioner.
He
said that there had been about 14 reported illegal entries into the zoo
since 1984 and that employees regularly have to chase youths attempting
to scale the fence after closing.
''It's
closed off at 5, but sometimes kids do walk through it after hours,''
Mr. Stern said. ''But it's never led to a tragedy. People tend to behave
themselves.''
Mr. Stern said he hoped that the incident would help reshape people's perceptions about bears.
''People
see bears as funny eating, tender loving creatures,'' he said. ''But
polar bears are carnivorous animals and highly protective of their
territory. In romance, we've overlooked the fact that they are highly
dangerous animals.'' Stronger Safety Measures
He said that there is one night watchman who is assisted by a security team that drives around the zoo checking for intruders.
The
last security check at the bears' den was made between 5:15 P.M. and
5:35 P.M., Mr. Stern said, and the next check was due two hours later.
He
said John Ciaffone, the parks department's inspector general, was
conducting an investigation to determine exactly how the youths entered
the zoo and what can be done to prevent more illegal entries.
The
incident led to hundreds of irate phone calls to the police and parks
department protesting the shooting of the animals. Police See 2 Children
Run Away
Deputy
Police Commissioner Alice T. McGillion said most of the callers were
not well informed on the circumstances surrounding the shooting. She
said the police received an initial report on the 911 emergency system
at 7 P.M. of children screaming in the zoo.
After
being let onto the zoo grounds by a groundskeeper, the police saw two
children walking toward them, but the pair ran off, Ms. McGillion said.
The
officers then walked to the bears' den, where they saw Juan's
dismembered body. They also saw the clothing nearby and the bears with
blood on them.
''There was no question
that he was dead,'' Ms. McGillion said. ''But the presence of the
clothing indicated that other children might be involved. The officers
assumed that perhaps the children were hiding or were injured in the
cage.'' Decision to Shoot the Bears
She
said a decision was made immediately to shoot the bears. Four officers
used 20 blasts from 12-gauge shotguns firing rifled slugs and six
bullets from a .38-caliber revolver to bring down the bears.
She said that officers do have tranquilizer bullets, but that they are designed for small animals, such as dogs.
Park officials also said that there have been some instances in which the animals were attacked by humans.
William
Kapps, director of human law enforcement for the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said that as designed now, at the
Prospect Park Zoo, which was built in the 1930's, ''the people are
adequately protected, but animals are not protected from pedestrians who
can throw things in cages.''
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