Maddox Derkosh, 2, tragically fell into the African painted dog exhibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo on Nov. 4, where he was viscously mauled to death in front of horrified onlookers. An autopsy confirms he died due to blood loss from the attack. Police and officials at the zoo are continuing the investigation into the toddler’s death, after he fell 14 feet from the barrier and into the exhibit where 11 dogs attacked him.

Witnesses say the boy fell onto a safety net designed to catch falling objects, but bounced out due to his small size.

“Very unfortunately, in this situation, the dogs were doing what the dogs would normally do,” zoo president Dr. Barbara Baker said during a press conference from the Pittsburgh Zoo on Nov. 5. “The question came to us of course immediately, ‘Why didn’t staff go in?’” she added, “it was too dangerous.”

The zoo closed on Nov. 4 following the attack, but reopened Nov. 6.

“The hardest part is going to be to explain to my kids that their playmate is no longer here,” family friend Rachel Majcher, 33, told TribLive.com. “His life will be celebrated.”

Maddox’s funeral will be held on Nov. 9, and his parents are asking for donations of toy construction trucks in the boy’s name to be given to a Christmas children’s charity.

Such a tragedy. Our thoughts are with Maddox’s family during this difficult time.

What do YOU think of the story HollyMoms?

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Tragedy struck the Pittsburgh Zoo on Nov. 4 when a 2-year-old boy was viciously mauled to death by a pack of African painted dogs in front of horrified spectators. Zoo president Dr. Barbara Baker said during a press conference on Nov. 5 the baby fell from a barrier railing 14 feet high, landed into a safety net, but then bounced out and fell into the exhibit, where he was killed.

The zoo will remain closed as police and internal investigators look into the horrific crime — the first of any of its kind in the zoo’s more than 100-year history.

“Very unfortunately, in this situation, the dogs were doing what the dogs would normally do,” Dr. Baker said during a press conference from the Pittsburgh Zoo.

The child fell 14 feet from the barrier railing outside the African painted dog exhibit into a grassy yard where the dogs live. Dr. Baker said the boy died after several agonizing minutes from the wounds he suffered from the mauling attack, not from the fall itself.

She added that zoo officials acted appropriately per their official procedure, and that responders were on the scene within seconds. Although zoo keepers were able to lure some of the dogs away from the boy, it was deemed unsafe for workers to enter the exhibit itself..

She said witnesses reported seeing the baby fall down onto a safety net, designed to catch any falling objects, but since he was so small, he bounced twice on the net and then fell into the exhibit.

“We discourage people from letting their children sit on the railing…this is a horrible horrible tragedy, but the zoo has been here since 1898, and this is the first time we’ve had any type of visitor injury,” she said.

Dr. Baker said that the entire zoo is closed for the investigation, and the specific exhibit will remain closed throughout the winter. Any changes that need to be made will be in effect by the time it re-opens in the spring.

“The zoo feels terrible about this tragic accident, that this occurred at our zoo,” she said. “It’s our worst nightmare as zoo professionals.”

What do YOU think of the accident HollyMoms?

– Christina Stiehl

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Tragedy struck at the Pittsburgh Zoo on Nov. 4 as a child was killed by a pack of African dogs. Zookeepers failed to lure the pack of endangered species away from the helpless boy.

“The screams just kept coming and coming: ‘Someone help. Someone has to do something,’” Angela Cinti, 20, of Bethel Park, who was visiting the zoo today with her boyfriend Nick Kramer, 16, told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Zoo President and Chief Executive Officer Barbara Baker said the child was visiting the zoo with his mother when he fell over a wooden railing and off of a mesh barrier, entering the African dog display. According to the report, the wooden railing is 4 feet high and the lower mesh barrier is 14 feet above the open exhibit space.

Zookeepers removed 7 out of the 11 dogs from the exhibit as the child’s life remained in danger. The staff continued to shoot darts into the exhibit in hopes of scaring the dogs, but, “unfortunately, the dogs were in pack mentality and not responding.”

“There were three dogs: one at his head, one on the left side of his neck and another one down by his leg… A [zoo employee]got there and hopped over a fence with a rake and he was banging…trying to distract the dogs but they wouldn’t move,” said Angela.

The incident is under investigation by police and the zoo.

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