Zoo officials: Tiger den wall shorter than reported

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) - A wall that separated the public from the San Francisco Zoo's tigers is nearly 6 feet shorter than initially reported - and nearly 4 feet shorter than industry standards - the zoo's director said Thursday.

A 300-pound Siberian tiger apparently jumped that wall Tuesday, zoo director Manuel Mollinedo said, attacking and killing a 17-year-old boy and injuring two other young men, brothers who were visiting the zoo with the teenager.

"I think the tiger could have grabbed onto something, maybe a ledge," Mollinedo said. "She had to jump. How she was able to jump so high is amazing to me, but she's an exotic animal."

Mollinedo also said the dry moat between the wall and the tiger exhibit is 33 feet, not 20 feet as originally reported. The wall, he said, is 12 and a half feet, not 18 feet. The exhibit was built in 1940, he said.