White Tiger Mauls Roy In Vegas

[curiosityrats]

If you ask me, THIS guy is the one who deseves being in critical condition in a hospital. Honestly, a tiger in an apartment...

Poor, scared animal. THIS is abuse.

And it "outgrew him." Please. ("I swear, I thought tigers stopped growing at around 20 pounds... I had no idea they weren't suited to apartment life...")

[moosmom]

I heard on the news last night that Roy told the authorities "Please, don't blame the cat, it wasn't his fault. Please don't KILL the cat."

I hope they listen to him. That cat was only doing what his instincts told him to do and that was to defend himself because he felt threatened.

I hope Roy recovers, don't get me wrong, but I DO hope they don't euthanize that tiger for following his instincts.

[2kitties]

Moosmom, I honestly doubt that the authorities would put down such an endangered animal. And the animals rights groups along with Sigfried and Company would never allow it to happen. Truthfully, I think the majority of people see this as an eventuallity when dealing with wild animals. A tragedy, but not necessarily unexpected.

[Twisterdog]

What Led to Tiger Attack?
Oct 7, 10:09 AM EST

Associated Press

Siegfried & Roy's longtime manager said Tuesday he thought the act went awry when Montecore the tiger got distracted by something in the audience.

Moments later the tiger attacked trainer and performer Roy Horn, leaving him in critical condition.

"Roy — heroically, from my perception — got in front of him and started to nudge him," manager Bernie Yuman told ABC-TVs "Good Morning America."

"They were both out of their routine. One thing led to another, and it was a tragic accident," he said.

Exquisite white tigers have been Horn's passion for almost 40 years. A modern day Dr. Dolittle who called the cats his children, Horn spent vast amounts of time, energy and money on animals that have left millions of show-goers here in awe since 1966.

The menagerie developed by Horn and longtime stage partner Siegfried Fischbacher includes 63 rare white tigers and white lions. Horn has been on hand for many of their births.

"The first voice they hear is mine, the first touch they feel is mine, the first human face they see is mine," Horn said in an interview in late 2000. "They just think I'm a strange tiger who walks on two legs."

But on Friday night, just 20 hours after Horn had celebrated his 59th birthday with hundreds of friends, one of the beasts inexplicably turned on its owner at the Mirage hotel-casino.

As he had done thousands of times, Horn sauntered onto the stage with 7-year-old Montecore, a white tiger who has appeared in the show since he was 6 months old — telling the capacity crowd of 1,503 it was the cat's stage debut — a little white tiger lie.

Montecore was told to lie down, but balked and grabbed Horn's arm in his mouth. Horn struck Montecore with his microphone, trying to get him to loosen his grip. Montecore then grabbed Horn by his throat, dragging him backstage where handlers subdued the tiger by spraying him with a fire extinguisher.

Horn prided himself in knowing his animals and his animals knowing him. In more than 40 years of close encounters with some of the world's most exotic animals, Horn was never injured by any of the creatures, Horn said in a 2000 interview for the book "Siegfried & Roy's Gift for the Ages."

"Siegfried and I have spent every waking moment with our animals," Horn said. "We watch and observe. We talk to them, take walks with them, swim with them, meditate with them. Day by day, we learn about each other. But you must have patience and respect for Mother Nature. Because when an animal gives you its trust, you feel like you have been given the most beautiful gift in the world."

Horn said whatever situation he's put in with his animals, "I always try to think as they think. We can always solve our arguments in an understanding way because I respect them and they respect me."

Only once was that philosophy tested, he said in the 2000 interview.

He was playing hide and seek, as he often did, with a Siberian tiger named Sahra.

"After rolling around in the grass together, she suddenly laid on top of me and pinned me down," Horn recalled. "Our eyes met and I realized she was no longer playing; she was about to bite me. Trusting my instincts, I raised my head and bit her nose as hard as I could.

"Totally perplexed, she jumped up and pretended it never happened. I immediately made our friendship sound — ff-fuff, ff-fuff. She never attempted to bite me again."

The bonds with special animals begin at an early age. When a white lion or white tiger is pregnant she is cared for at special birthing facilities at Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden, an animal habitat at the Mirage.

"I think this is incredible when you consider an animal like this can kill their own mate over young ones, and to think that she accepts Roy to be a part of the experience is a miracle," Fischbacher said.

Horn's love of animals dates back to postwar Germany, when his father returned home from the German military with an animal that was half dog, half wolf. Horn and the dog, Hexe, became inseparable, spending their days wandering in the nearby woods.

"If it wasn't for Hexe, I wouldn't be sitting here today," Horn said in the interview. One day Horn was sucked into a swamp area and began sinking. Hexe raced to a nearby farmhouse and brought help, Horn recalled.

Horn left home at an early age to become a bellboy on the cruise ship, where he met Fischbacher, a young magician who was one of the ship's entertainers.

The two first played Las Vegas in 1966, then returned as a featured act in 1974. They signed an unprecedented $57.5 million contract to play the Mirage in a theater bearing their name beginning in 1990. In 2001, after performing some 5,000 shows before more than 7 million people at the Mirage, they signed a lifetime contract with the resort.

The day after the attack, the show was closed indefinitely.

[babolaypo65]

I saw this interview on GMA. wow.

[moosmom]

Because Sigfreid and Roy domesticated Montecore, he will be euthanized. Very sad.

They cannot release him into the wild because he doesn't know how to hunt prey to feed himself, they always fed him.

They cannot put him in a zoo because his life would be in jeopardy with the other wild cats who aren't domesticated.

I am seriously heartbroken over this whole episode. These two men made millions of dollars off of these wild cats (confessing their love and compassion for them). But all the time they were hurting the cats chances for survival because the cats trust humans too much and now cannot be where they should've been to begin with, out in the wild with their fellow wild animals.

Another precious life down the tubes because of humans STUPIDITY!!!

[curiosityrats]

Originally posted by moosmom
Because Sigfreid and Roy domesticated Montecore, he will be euthanized. Very sad.

Huh? Why? Did I miss something? Where did you read that?? There are sanctuaries for cats like Montecore. Why wouldn't Siegfried & Roy keep him or send him to a sanctuary? Don't they keep retired tiger "stars"? Most magicians do.... The big cats in sanctuaries are often MUCH worse off before they got there. HORRIBLY vicious from being severely abused/neglected (often kept in apartments or tiny cages), mutilated by declawings and other things. Why would Monticore, a well-raised and properly treated animal "owned" by people who care about him (and can afford to care for him or place him in a place he can be cared for), be less of a candidate for such a sanctuary?

Sorry, but that just isn't logical. Did you read that in a paper or hear a news report?

[Twisterdog]

Because Sigfreid and Roy domesticated Montecore, he will be euthanized.

That's not true. According to every article I have read, the tiger will NOT be killed.

And, just a note, tigers are never "domesticated". Some of them might be "tame", like Montecore, but they are never "domesticated." It takes many thousands of generations to domesticate a species, such as dogs, cows, etc. Taming one animal does not a domestic species make.

[babolaypo65]

Actually Twister, the animal trainer on GMA used a different distinction. He says that they arent ever "tame" either, only "trained".

[moosmom]

I stand corrected I guess. There are so many stories and versions of what took place, it's difficult to say what's true and what's not.

I just heard on the radio that Montecore felt Roy was in danger and was actually trying to PROTECT Roy by first grabbing his sleeve and pulling him down on the floor. She then grabbed him by the nap of the neck like a tiger mother does when she carries her cubs to safety.

It was also reported that Roy suffered a stroke from all the blood loss.

I guess we'll never know exactly WHAT was going through Montecore's mind. I do hope that they put her in a sanctuary where she can live out her remaining years.

[lovemyshiba]

Siegfried did an interview on CNN last night (it may have been Larry King)--did anyone see it??

It was on at work, but with the sound muted, so I couldn't catch anything.

edit: I just found the story on CNN.com, here's the link, if anyone's interested.
I found the second part interesting as well.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/10/0...roy/index.html

[babolaypo65]

I saw him on GMA this morning. Boy does he love that man. You could see him barely, but nobely holding it together, saying only the most positive and beautiful things about him....

[curiosityrats]

Originally posted by moosmom
I just heard on the radio that Montecore felt Roy was in danger and was actually trying to PROTECT Roy by first grabbing his sleeve and pulling him down on the floor. She then grabbed him by the nap of the neck like a tiger mother does when she carries her cubs to safety.

That actually makes a lot of sense... When I heard that Montecore dragged him off the stage like that, I thought it didn't sound like a mauling...

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by Twisterdog

It takes many thousands of generations to domesticate a species, such as dogs, cows, etc. Taming one animal does not a domestic species make.

Can't you just get one of those "Domestication
for Dummies" books and hurry the process along??

[Logan]

Here's the link to the transcript from Larry King Live, last night, where Larry was speaking with Siegfried and their manager....The article from CNN that Emily posted takes it's excerpts from this.

Larry King Live

I thought, in a way, it was very enlightening. Hopefully it will shed some new light on the whole situation for the rest of you.