A security guard closes the gate at the Pittsburgh Zoo, where zoo officials say a young boy was killed after he fell into the exhibit that was home to a pack of African painted dogs, who pounced on the boy and mauled him, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012. It?s not clear whether he died from the fall or the attack, said Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. (AP Photo/John Heller)
A security guard closes the gate at the Pittsburgh Zoo, where zoo officials say a young boy was killed after he fell into the exhibit that was home to a pack of African painted dogs, who pounced on the boy and mauled him, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012. It?s not clear whether he died from the fall or the attack, said Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. (AP Photo/John Heller)
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium President and CEO Barbara Baker holds a news conference on the death of a young boy who was killed when he fell about 14 feet off a deck into an exhibit that's home to a pack of African painted dogs, who pounced on the boy and mauled him, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Bob Donaldson) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; MONESSEN OUT; KITTANNING OUT; CONNELLSVILLE OUT; GREENSBURG OUT; TARENTUM OUT; NORTH HILLS NEWS RECORD OUT; BUTLER OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT
This photo taken Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012 shows the exterior view of the front entrance of the Pittsburgh Zoo, where zoo officials say a young boy was killed after he fell into the exhibit that was home to a pack of African painted dogs, who pounced on the boy and mauled him. It?s not clear whether he died from the fall or the attack, said Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. (AP Photo/John Heller)
A security guard closes the gate at the Pittsburgh Zoo, where zoo officials say a young boy was killed after he fell into the exhibit that was home to a pack of African painted dogs, who pounced on the boy and mauled him, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012. It?s not clear whether he died from the fall or the attack, said Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. (AP Photo/John Heller)
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium President and CEO Barbara Baker finishes a news conference on the death of a young boy who was killed when he fell about 14 feet off a deck into an exhibit that's home to a pack of African painted dogs, who pounced on the boy and mauled him, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Bob Donaldson) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; MONESSEN OUT; KITTANNING OUT; CONNELLSVILLE OUT; GREENSBURG OUT; TARENTUM OUT; NORTH HILLS NEWS RECORD OUT; BUTLER OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT
PITTSBURGH (AP) ? A 2-year-old boy who fell into an exhibit of African wild dogs was killed by the animals, not the fall, the president of the Pittsburgh Zoo said Monday, adding a horrific coda to a tragedy that has devastated staff and shocked patrons.
The boy's mother had picked him up and put him on top of a railing at the edge of a viewing deck late Sunday morning when he lost his balance and fell, said Barbara Baker, CEO and president of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. There was a safety net below the railing, but it failed to catch him and the boy dropped more than 10 feet into the enclosure, she said.
"The child was so small that he bounced. He bounced twice and then he bounced into the exhibit," said Baker, tearing up at a news conference Monday afternoon.
The animals attacked the child so violently and quickly that by the time a veterinarian and other zoo staffers arrived seconds later, they determined it would have been futile to try rescuing the boy, she said.
Baker said she had been informed by the Allegheny County medical examiner that an autopsy determined the boy survived the plunge. The medical examiner's office has not yet publicly confirmed its findings or released the boy's name.
The African painted dogs are about as big as medium-sized domestic dogs, about 37 to 80 pounds, according to the zoo. They have large, rounded ears and dark brown circles around their eyes and are considered endangered.
The attack happened in a 1.5-acre exhibit called the Painted Dog Bush Camp that's part of a larger open area where elephants, lions and other animals can be seen. Visitors walk onto a deck that is glassed on the sides, but open in front where the roughly four-foot railing is located.
The zoo was immediately closed after the accident but was expected to reopen Tuesday.
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