Zoo Miami examined its safety measures after a 2-year-old boy fell into a African painted dogs exhibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo and was mauled to death by the wild dogs.
"It's not that they are mean, it's not that they are vicious. This is just their instinct to survive," said Ron Magill with Zoo Miami. "Being the predators that they are, carnivores that they are, they're going to get whatever is available to them as quickly as possible."
Magill has studied the dogs on numerous trips to Africa. African painted dogs are about the size of a domestic dog with a speckled, colored coat. They are known for their hunting prowess.
"They are many times more successful than lions, than leopards, than almost any other carnivore because they work as a team," said Magill.
On Monday, the Pittsburgh Zoo released details of the child's death. The boy's mother was balancing him on a wooden railing Sunday when he fell 14 feet into the enclosure. The 11 dogs in the pen immediately attacked him.
"That creates just a total frenzy situation. If you can picture a shark frenzy in the water with food, it's the same thing with these dogs," said Magill.
Zoo Miami built boundaries between the visitors and the wild dogs, which are endangered.
"We have a moated system here which causes a barrier of a moat between us and the exhibit, so you can't fall onto the exhibit itself because the moat is what separates you, and we have fences in front of that and other barriers," said Magill.
The Pittsburgh Zoo will reopen Tuesday, but the African painted dogs exhibit is closed until further notice.
The child has not been identified, and his family has made no public statement.