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Eko : Requiem for a Tiger

by Karen Coney Coplin

early forty years ago, a magnificent Like a cinematic masterpiece, Eko also was magnificent and
movie, Amadeus, won numerous awards beloved. But, he was shot and killed at the Naples Zoo in late
Nincluding the Academy Award for December last year after a member of the nighttime third-party
Best Motion Picture. cleaning crew bypassed the zoo's barriers and stuck his arm in Eko's
Although set in another age centuries ago, cage. Somehow this worker was able to call 911 and in the ensuing
it portrayed the reality of life then as well as chaos, a sheriff's deputy fired a fatal shot to free the man from Eko's
now, as some things never change: humanity grasp.
experiences the good, uplifting passages of This made national news. There was an outpouring of every
time, and not so good, when darker times prevail. Then, we have conceivable emotion, especially sadness, coming from every corner
the option to respond tenderly and with poignancy. of this earth.
In this movie, an unsettling scene brought a masked messenger What, then, is an appropriate requiem, an act or token of
to "Herr Mozart." He asked the musical prodigy to accept a remembrance, for a tiger? Eko's life in Naples deserves one.
commission and compose music for a dead man. When Wolfgang Many of us locals are still grieving. We share the sentiments of
Amadeus Mozart asked, "Who is dead?" the anonymous visitor 50 year Naples resident and devoted Naples Zoo member, Sally
replied: "He was a man who deserved a Requiem Mass, but did Anderson, who expressed her feelings, four months after Eko's
not receive one." death, as being numb and "without words." Her heart aches for his
This unsettling on-screen exchange had been buried in my caretakers and the many others affected by Eko's loss of life. She
memory for some time. It was recently resurrected when I learned added, "Hopefully, the powers that be will be proactive rather than
of plans in the works to rename a city lake in memory of Malayan reactive," to ensure that a similar tragic outcome does not occur
tiger Eko. again.
Another frequent zoo visitor, Marc Minisci, told me that his
sons, Jackson, 9, and Jude, 5, loved Eko. His youngest had the good
fortune of participating in a holiday camp held at the zoo, just
before Eko was killed. Marc explained that the zookeepers were
utterly bereft and took great pains to carefully and gingerly explain
some of the details to the young students when they returned to the
zoo after Eko's death.
As a family, Marc said that they are truly heartbroken and hope
that better safety measures are in place going forward.
Back in 2016, Marc and I joined forces in the aftermath of the
Pulse nightclub shooting. We wanted to bear witness to those who
were murdered. Many people came together in grief and purpose at
a beachfront vigil.
Here, Marc and I talked about what might be helpful in this
situation. Everyone was saddened by Eko's death. But what to do?
One healing answer came to mind when a Lake Park and
Chicago resident, Jan Chattler, awoke one morning shortly after
Eko was killed. She had the powerful thought to memorialize the
tiger with a symbolic act. She resides on a peaceful lake near the
Naples Zoo which is being dredged presently; as such, she had
numerous notices and points of contact from the city about this
activity.
Upon learning that this body of water was called "Lake 19," she
set the wheels in motion to have it renamed Eko Lake.

Courtesy of The Paper Merchant

46 Life in Naples | April 2022