Did they really get what they deserved?

The AP attempts to deflect the blame for the recent San Francisco Zoo tiger attack from the zoo to the tiger’s victims. The moral of the story apparently seems to be this—-A perfectly decent (not to mention RARE) tiger was wasted because of inhumane taunting by some young men who were high on drugs and alcohol. Heck, the men may have even driven to the zoo under the influence of controlled substances! We already have enough of a problem protecting these rare creatures in the wild, and then to have some young punks make things worse, arrgghhh. . . .

This is like blaming a rape victim for the rape because she was wearing a provocative outfit.

SAN FRANCISCO — One of the three victims of San Francisco Zoo tiger attack was intoxicated and admitted to yelling and waving at the animal while standing atop the railing of the big cat enclosure, police said in court documents filed Thursday.Paul Dhaliwal, 19, told the father of Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, who was killed, that the three yelled and waved at the tiger but insisted they never threw anything into its pen to provoke the cat, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.

“As a result of this investigation, (police believe) that the tiger may have been taunted/agitated by its eventual victims,” according to Inspector Valerie Matthews, who prepared the affidavit. Police believe that “this factor contributed to the tiger escaping from its enclosure and attacking its victims,” she said.

Although these men acted immaturely, it’s not like they opened the tiger’s enclosure, moved the railing closer to the danger zone, or even entered the enclosure.

More. .

Mark Geragos, an attorney for the Dhaliwal brothers, did not immediately return a call late Thursday by The Associated Press for comment. He has repeatedly said they did not taunt the tiger.

A call to Sousa also wasn’t returned.

Toxicology results for Dhaliwal showed that his blood alcohol level was 0.16 — twice the legal limit for driving, according to the affidavit. His 24-year-old brother Kulbir Dhaliwal and Sousa also had alcohol in their blood but within the legal limit, Matthews wrote.

All three also had marijuana in their systems, Matthews said. Kulbir Dhaliwal told police that the three had smoked pot and each had “a couple shots of vodka” before leaving San Jose for the zoo on Christmas Day the affidavit said.

Police found a small amount of marijuana in Kulbir Dhaliwal’s 2002 BMW, which the victims rode to the zoo, as well as a partially filled bottle of vodka, according to court documents.

Investigators also recovered messages and images from the cell phones, but apparently nothing incriminating in connection with the tiger attack, the Chronicle reported.

Sam Singer, a spokesman for the zoo, said he had not seen the documents but believed the victims did taunt the animal, even though they claim they hadn’t.

“Those brothers painted a completely different picture to the public and the press,” Singer said. “Now it’s starting to come out that what they said is not true.”

I get it now. They’re not only immature taunters, they’re potsmoking liars. . . which is apparently enough to tarnish your obit even if you were killed by a negligent public institution.