Death at the Bronx Zoo

She never played with dolls, preferring stuffed animals instead. Her family nicknamed her Mrs. Dolittle because of her love for creatures of all kinds. She trained as a zookeeper in California, and after earning a degree in animal behavior from Fordham University, Robin Silverman, 24, fulfilled her life's dream in February by becoming an animal keeper at the Bronx Zoo. She was known for her enthusiasm and expertise, which made what happened last week all the more inexplicable. At about 10 a.m., shortly before the zoo's Wild Asia exhibit was due to open, Silverman unlocked two doors and, along with Barbara Burke, 21, a volunteer aide, proceeded to walk into the two-acre enclosure. Twenty feet inside, two powerful Siberian tigresses sprang from thick foliage and pounced on her. Burke escaped by clambering up the 16-ft. chain fence. Silverman was the first fatality in the zoo's 86-year history.

Officials were perplexed as to why she entered the enclosure. They said she had been instructed to lock one door, not go inside. "There is no reason for anyone caring for tigers to ever go onto the exhibit area," said Zoo General Curator James Doherty. "As best as I can see, she had a lapse in concentration." While Burke might be able to provide some insight into Silverman's actions, she was said to be too shaken to talk about it.

Silverman's family suspects a lapse on the part of the zoo. Said the woman's brother Barry Silverman, 38: "There is no way my sister would have walked into the area if the tigers had been there. She would not have been that careless." Robin's death marked the second time that tragedy had struck the family: in 1969 a son died in a freak accident. Said Sol Silverman, 62: "It's a lot of loss. Seeing my son and daughter lying next to each other in the cemetery was very difficult."

Ulysses Seal, an expert on Siberian tigers, said the odds of being attacked while in an enclosed area with tigers are 100%. "Tigers regard a human as a meat meal," he said. "I've worked with tigers for seven years, and under no circumstances would I put myself under those conditions." People have called for the destruction of the animals that attacked Robin Silverman. Zoo Director William Conway disagrees. Says he: "We're not going to vilify normal, healthy tigers for doing what tigers do."