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ATTLEBORO - Workers will shoot to kill if a dangerous animal ever escapes its pen at Capron Park Zoo.

A shotgun is available and drills are held to rehearse if the worst happens and a lion, bear or leopard manages to get out from pens - pens that, mind you, are variously secured by high walls, electric wire, steel mesh ceilings, and locks.

"If a human life is in jeopardy, we can make the call to take the animal down," said zookeeper Brenda Young Thursday in the wake of a tiger escape Tuesday at the San Francisco Zoo that resulted in the death of one person and serious injuries to two others.

"Our first priority is visitor safety, then staff safety and then animal safety."

While the tragedy in San Francisco sparked safety assessments in zoos throughout the country, safety analysis is something that goes on constantly behind the scenes at Capron and most other zoos with dangerous animals, said zoo director Jean Benchimol. A sign in the bowels of Capron's bear and lion building says it all - "Think Safety First."

But it's more than a sign, it's a way of life, staffers said.

Benchimol said she orders safety drills without notice to prepare workers for the chaos of an animal escape, attack or some other emergency situation.

"It's one of those things you hope you never need," she said. "But when you need it, you need it."

While the zoo implements all required safety measures and then some, there's something no amount of rehearsal or training can completely stop - human error. Mistakes can be made, so the training goes on.

"With the human element, you can't plug every hole," Benchimol said.

While zoo workers are trained to respond to emergencies, the police and fire departments are also on board for immediate backup.

But none of this is new, Benchimol said.

It's the hard necessity of running an institution that keeps wild and dangerous beasts.

Capron's most dangerous animals are lions, sloth bears and leopards. The tiger in San Francisco may have leapt from its pen. Lions however, are not known for their jumping ability, she said.

But just in case, electric wire is strung around the high-walled exhibit and is doubled where patrons stand to gaze at the animals.

The sloth bear exhibit also has the wire.

Animals sense the electricity and stay away, Young said. "It gives a pretty good jolt," she said.

The system is checked daily to make certain it's working.

Meanwhile leopards, which are good leapers, are held at bay with a steel mesh ceiling on their outdoor pen.

And while sloth bears don't jump well, they are good climbers, so the walls in their exhibit are angled toward the ground to make it very hard for them to scale.

Backstage of the bear and lion exhibits where the animals stay at night or in foul weather, the zoo has complex of double-locked doors, a cast-iron safety gate and special facilities that allow the animals to be fed and watered without so much as zoo keeper's finger entering a pen.

A mirror is strategically placed to reveal a lurking escaped animal and push button alarms are located at both ends of the building to bring bring help quickly.

Workers are even trained to use fire extinguishers to subdue an animal in an emergency situation.

Zookeepers also carry pepper spray to hold off an attacking animal.

And if an animal gets loose in the building, there are two unlocked "safety pens" to which a worker can flee, lock herself in and call for help on a radio or a walkie talkie.

Meanwhile, zookeepers are always watching.

They watch for unusual animal behavior or unacceptable human behavior like taunting. Taunting has been raised as a possible contributing factor in the San Francisco episode.

"We're always watching," Young said. "And if a visitor tells us about something that made them uncomfortable we'll check it to make sure it's nothing that can lead to an escape."

Capron has zero tolerance for taunting which can enrage an otherwise placid animal, Benchimol said.

"We move very quickly to stop it," she said. "That's one thing we don't tolerate at any level."

Stephanie Mitchell, who assists Young in the lion and bear exhibit, said there is little margin for error and zookeepers, especially those who work with dangerous animals, can't afford to lose their focus.

"You always have to be on guard," she said.

GEORGE W. RHODES can be reached at 508-236-0432 or at grhodes@thesunchronicle.com.