Mother Drops Her Toddler Into a Pack of Wild Dogs

Mother Drops Her Toddler Into a Pack of Wild Dogs

Maddox Lamar Derkosh was born on January 21, 2010, to Jason and Elizabeth Derkosh of Whitehall, Pennsylvania. He was an adorable little boy with blonde hair and glasses who loved trucks and superheroes. On November 4, 2012, when Maddox was just two years old, the Derkosh family enjoyed a day trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, formerly known as the Highland Park Zoo. The facility sits on 77 acres of parkland, exhibiting more than 4,000 animals representing 475 species, including 20 threatened or endangered species.

The zoo is divided into several regions, including the Forest Passage, the Water’s Edge, Jungle Odyssey, and the now-infamous African Savannah. In this section, the zoo kept a number of African painted dogs in a solid structure made chiefly of wood, with a viewing deck allowing visitors to watch the dogs from above. The aforementioned deck featured a small safety net intended to gather falling debris so that nothing would accidentally end up in the enclosure. However, it was intended to rescue only small personal objects dropped by visitors and was not designed to hold the weight of a human being.

The exhibit featured a number of warning signs urging visitors to be careful when using the deck; if you fell in, you were unfortunately on your own. According to zoo staffers, it was not uncommon to see parents hoisting their kids up onto the railing of the exhibit for a clear view of the painted dogs, despite numerous warnings about their behavior. This is not a secret; at many places where families gather, you will observe parents putting their children in precarious positions for a better view.

Unfortunately, Maddox was about to be one of those children. Elizabeth Derkosh ignored the warning signs and lifted her toddler atop the railings of the viewing deck for a better look at the painted dogs. However, this is when tragedy struck. Maddox slipped from his mother’s grasp, toppled over the safety net—which was not designed to hold him—and fell 14 feet onto the ground of the enclosure, where he was immediately mauled by 11 of the painted dogs.

The dog pack proceeded to attack Maddox violently. A horrified Elizabeth tried to break into the enclosure to rescue her little boy; however, she was restrained by another zoo patron. Other visitors in attendance claimed to hear Elizabeth screaming for help in the distance, while visitors closer to the exhibit bore witness to the grotesque scene. As visitors screamed for help, the zoo followed its policy by firing dummy darts at the animals to spook them. Zoo officials did not fire live darts into the enclosure because they could have struck the little boy.

Maddox Derkosh was rapidly torn apart and bled to death before anybody could reach him. His body was eventually recovered and sent to the medical examiner for investigation. After the painted dogs were detained, one of the dogs was shot and killed by a police officer at the scene to gain access to Maddox; none of the other dogs were harmed during the incident. Initially, it was unclear whether Maddox had been killed by the fall or by the painted dogs themselves. Eventually, it was revealed that Maddox had been fully conscious after the fall and that the dogs had mauled and bitten him. Maddox’s internal organs were destroyed by the dogs, and he had suffered more than 46 wounds to his head and neck. When veterinarian Barbara Baker and other zoo staff arrived, they determined it would have been futile to try to rescue him. According to Ms. Baker, “It was clear the child was dead. There was no reason to send our staff into harm’s way.”

In a report for ABC News, Jack Hanna argued that African painted dogs are a very aggressive species, as he had worked around them in the 1990s while filming his series Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown. Hanna stated in the interview, “I don’t care if a zookeeper, a policeman, a tranquilizer gun—whatever would have been right there—could not have helped. Sorry is not a word that I can even say. Condolences, I don’t know what word to use, but my heart aches right now for everybody.” He continued, “I don’t care that person was standing right there… in six seconds, no, you could not have done one thing. I don’t care if the Pittsburgh Zoo did everything they could do, and I’d bet my life on it, but I can tell you now, it was like a stick of dynamite going off. It was done before it started.”

Maddox’s killing triggered a lengthy debate between the Derkosh family and the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, which escalated into lawsuits and court filings. The zoo argued that it was not at fault for the attack on Maddox, and moreover, that Elizabeth was reckless and negligent in deliberately lifting her son atop the railing when she had been explicitly told not to do so. Elizabeth, in turn, argued that the zoo was irresponsible in the design and operation of the enclosure and the viewing deck. Her lawsuit, which sought damages of $300,000, brought to light that there was only an ill-fitting window to prevent visitors from getting too close to the railing and that the painted dogs were roaming loose. It was later revealed that there had been a previous case where the zoo had to be temporarily put in lockdown because the dogs escaped their enclosure and wandered around the greater zoo property; however, nobody was injured or killed by them.

The zoo denied claims that officials had received any warning from staff that parents regularly lifted their children onto the unprotected area overlooking the wild dog exhibit and that they did nothing to protect them. However, a review of the zoo’s safety committee’s meeting minutes proved otherwise. One note stated, “Wild dog exhibit has one side of the exhibit that is open, and a visitor was seen dangling a child over the exhibit through the opening.” Another stated, “Guests are dangling children over the railing at the wild dogs exhibit.”

The zoo claimed that the railings surrounding the enclosure complied with building and safety codes and denied claims that it lacked an emergency plan at the time of the incident. According to zoo spokeswoman Tracy Gray, the zoo had met the safety standards of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture found no problems with the exhibit in 35 inspections since 2006. The zoo removed the observation deck a month after the mauling, and the exhibit displaying the wild dogs closed shortly thereafter. It was later replaced with a cheetah exhibit. According to Ms. Gray, “The USDA has conducted 35 inspections of the painted dog exhibit since its opening in 2006. At no time have any concerns or violations regarding this exhibit been identified by the regulatory agency.”

The painted dogs were relocated to various undisclosed locations. In a statement, zoo officials shared, “We want our visitors to enjoy a family-fun and safe environment while learning about our animals. Unfortunately, the painted dogs would have been a continuous reminder of the accident and would distract from educational opportunities to learn about this wonderful and endangered species.” The loss of the painted dog enclosure drew a heavy blow to the zoo’s endangered species breeding program, which has a typical mortality rate of 50 percent. For example, on October 25, 2009, one of the zoo’s African painted dogs, Vega, gave birth to nine live puppies and one dead puppy. Vega died the next day, leaving her puppies orphaned. To help nurse and raise the dogs, the zoo found a domesticated dog named Honey from a local shelter who had recently given birth and was still lactating. Honey immediately took to the puppies and fed them. At the same time, the zoo’s vet staff hand-fed these puppies a liquid diet fortified with enzymes. After one month, only five of the remaining puppies had survived.

Elizabeth Derkosh was not charged with negligence despite the accusations made against her. The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium received some public and media backlash for its treatment of the grieving mother. At the same time, attorneys for both sides began to take potshots at one another. The parents’ attorney, Robert Mongeluzzi, said that the zoo failed miserably in their solemn responsibility to prevent this attack, as well as shamelessly attacking Maddox’s grieving mother. Meanwhile, the zoo’s attorney stated, “The injuries and damages sustained by Maddox Derkosh, including Maddox Derkosh’s death, were caused solely by the carelessness, negligence, and/or recklessness of Elizabeth Derkosh. She knew or should have known he could fall into the exhibit and failed to maintain a proper grasp of Maddox Derkosh after lifting him over the railing.” Later, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. declared Maddox Derkosh’s death a tragic accident while adding that Elizabeth would not face any charges.

The Derkosh family and the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Attorneys for Maddox’s parents issued a joint statement: “Details of the settlement will remain confidential. The Derkosh family and the zoo request that the privacy of all parties involved be respected.”

This wasn’t the first time that the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium experienced this kind of tragedy. On November 19, 2002, 46-year-old elephant keeper Michael Gotti was killed by one of the zoo’s elephants while attempting to encourage the animal to move to a different part of her enclosure. She butted him with her head, crushing him against the ground and killing him instantly. Maddox’s tragic death has been compared in the media with similar incidents at zoos, theme parks, and aquariums, including the San Francisco Zoo tiger attacks, the death of Deborah Gail Stone at the Disneyland ride America Sings, and the killing of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau.

Slater Funeral Service handled Maddox’s final arrangements, and a massive Christian burial was held at Saint Bernard Church in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Father Dave Bonner, who officiated Maddox’s service, said of the little boy, “Maddox was a happy child who loved life and giggled a lot. If he were asked to draw a picture of God, he would probably draw a picture of a truck.” Maddox’s adoration for trucks inspired Elizabeth and Jason Derkosh to create a fundraiser in their son’s memory, which involved asking the public for donations of toy trucks, which were then donated to impoverished children for Christmas presents. The fundraiser drew in thousands of donated toys, mostly from strangers who did not personally know the Derkosh family but who had been disturbed by the story of his death and inspired to help.

So, what do you think? Is the zoo solely responsible for the death of Maddox Derkosh, or do his parents share some of the responsibility for the little boy tumbling into the painted dog enclosure? Is this a tragic accident or an act of negligence? What about the fact that an endangered species needed to be killed, much like that of Harambe, because warnings were not heeded? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below.