Your Vancouver Sun

Brave children battled killer tiger
Catherine Rolfsen and Jeff Lee, with a file from Bev Boyle,, Vancouver Sun; with a file from 100 Mile House Advisor
Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2007

As Tania Dumstrey-Soos was being mauled to death by a Bengal tiger, a 12-year-old child tried to fend the giant cat off with a baseball bat, while three others attempted to drag her to safety.

Dumstrey-Soos was saying good night to the caged tiger Gangus when he swiped at her from beneath the wire and pulled her partially into the cage.

Dumstrey-Soos' six-year-old son Nick witnessed the attack and alerted her fiance Kim Carlton's 14-year-old son Kodiak and 12-year-old twin girls Dallas and Dakota, who came out of the house and sprung into action.

"The bravery of these kids in a situation like this is amazing," Carlton, the owner of Siberian Magic zoo in Bridge Lake, told the 100 Mile House Advisor in an interview.

"Dallas grabbed a bat and as she prodded at Gangus to get him away from Tania, the other kids pulled her away from the tiger."

As Dumstrey-Soos lay bleeding -- which was aggravated by blood-thinning medication she was taking in preparation for an operation -- the children tied a belt around her leg and covered her in blankets.

They called 911 and then Carlton, who was racing home from a trip to Vancouver, allowing the couple to speak for the last time.

"I was telling her to hang on, to stay awake and that I love her," said Carlton.

"She was telling me how much she loved me and then she said she couldn't hold on anymore."

Gangus has since been destroyed, and authorities are left trying to explain how the tragedy was allowed to happen.

The SPCA said Monday it has no legislative power to seize or put down exotic animals that are considered a danger to the public, even though it had warned the RCMP and two levels of government about the dangers posed by Siberian Magic.

Dumstrey-Soos' death has prompted the province to consider amending the Wildlife Act to govern the keeping of some exotic animals.

Marcie Moriarty, the SPCA's general manager of animal cruelty investigations, said Monday the non-profit group had the authority to seize the three tigers if they were being mistreated or in distress.

But it couldn't legally take the exotic animals into custody for being a danger to the public, she said.

"Not for simply safety concerns," she said. Asked who does have the power, she said: "Nobody. Well, there is no regulation addressing exotics and public safety, unless it is a bylaw."

However, she said the SPCA did consider stepping in anyway if Carlton, didn't follow through on promises to strengthen the tigers' pens.

"We did notify the regional district and the RCMP and we had meetings with them about those concerns," she said.

"We even issued orders to the animal owner even though we technically don't have the ability to do this. We did let him know that he had to strengthen up the security around [the pens]."

But in this case, she said, the SPCA was prepared to destroy the animals if the pens weren't improved to make them safe.

"The last possible thing you want to do in situations like this is seize the animal for euthanasia. However, I can tell you that is something that really did cross our minds," she said.

"The animal owner kept indicating that as soon as the snow melts he would be building new enclosures, bigger ones. We thought that if that hadn't happened, it may have come to that [destroying the animals]."

The enclosures were not improved before Thursday's fatal mauling.

According to Moriarty and Peter Fricker of the Vancouver Humane Society, municipalities and regional districts are responsible for public safety around dangerous domestic animals, such as vicious dogs. The provincial government's Conservation Service is responsible for captive native wildlife, such as wolves, coyotes, moose and deer.

And the RCMP can destroy any animal that poses a significant risk to the public.

But Cpl. Scott Ksionzyk, a spokesman for the 100 Mile House RCMP, said while police could kill the tigers "in exigent circumstances" such as an escape, the law is vague on who is responsible if the animals pose a risk to the public but remain confined.

Ksionzyk said the RCMP met with and assisted the SPCA in ensuring the tigers were being properly cared for, but there was no attempt made to remove them for public safety reasons.

He said an investigation into Dumstrey-Soos' death is nearing completion.