Nothing in my life is ever as simple as it could be. In order for me to even look at the new version of SG I had to download Mozilla. That was my only option. Which took hours of download time on my slow ass dial-up. Ahhh, life in the stix.
Clearing up the "Siegfried & Roy" White Tiger "attack" Confusion
Here's what happened according to news articles: Last Friday, "Siegfried & Roy" were performing at the Mirage Hotel/Casino in Los Angeles. During the performance the 600lb white tiger, Montecore, was distracted by a woman sitting in the front row of the audience by her large hairdo. Apparently Montecore stopped performing and went to investigate this woman who tried to pet him. Roy Horn (of "Siegfried & Roy" fame) tried to stop this from happening, Montecore grabbed Horn by the forearm. Horn rapped him on the nose with a microphone, causing a loud sudden noise, and Montecore released his arm. Then Roy tripped and fell. Siegfried Fischbacher, and animal trainers rushed to the animal while Horn was down. Montecore then bent down and grabbed Roy by the neck and took him offstage. The tiger calmly paced back stage on the route that he walked during the show and attempted to go back into his cage, with Horn. At this point Horn had, had a minor stroke and lost a blood.
I'd like to see the video myself to make a better judgement of what happened, but here are some thoughts on it.
First off, I don't think Montecore attacked Roy Horn or was in any way meaning to hurt him. On the contrary, he was trying to protect him. Montecore could have been confused thinking the woman's hair was a strange unknown animal and was picking up the fallen Roy and taking him to safety off stage. The problem here was that just as a cat picks up its young, by the scruff of the neck, is how ihe picked up Roy and that's where our jugular vein is. Humans don't have that stretchy skin on the back of our neck to pick us up by. So Montecore's teeth punctured Roy's neck.
Unfortunately, in these situations there isn't usually a happy ending for the show animal. Although the animal tainers and zoo keepers know of the hazards of keeping a wild animal, in the end the animal is always blamed for its natural instincts. Wild animals best belong in their natural habitat - the wild. Why should they be punished when taken outside of their home and reacting naturally to feeling as if they are under attacked or otherwise confused by living in human habitat? Had Montecore been confused and otherwise stressed by the strange looking woman in the audience and in turn attacked Roy feeling that he himself was under attack, would this be such an unexpected thing to happen - No. He may have in fact attacked Roy at first thinking it was another of the strange animals coming up from behind, and afterwards realising it was Roy taking him to the safety of his cage.
I've had some Zoo training and witnessed first hand the accidental release of a normally caged medium sized feline. The cat desperately tried to get back into its "safe place" - the caged habitat. As strange as that may sound that is what caged animals do. Otherwise, where would their "natural habitat" be but in the far away place they were imported from that they can not possibly return to on their own.
It makes me angry that magazines like Newsweek have a front cover that reads "Tiger Terror" misleading readers about the true nature of what happened! Plus some animal "experts" claim that Montecore meant to kill Roy. Bullshit. We won't know the whole story anyway until we hear it from the mouth of Roy Horn himself, the one that best knows Montecore.
UPDATE - There has just been an exclusive interview with Siegfried Fischbacher by Larry King which explains the entire situation. Siegfried states that just after Montecore picked up Roy and moved him backstage (and released him on his own will) - Roy said, "Don't harm the tiger." Bernie Yuman, Siegfried & Roy's longtern manager states, "You know, Montecore was helping save his friend to take him to safety. That's -- this is not an attack. This was not a mauling. This is Montecore taking his friend to safety."
Siegfried & Roy Official Homepage
Clearing up the "Siegfried & Roy" White Tiger "attack" Confusion
Here's what happened according to news articles: Last Friday, "Siegfried & Roy" were performing at the Mirage Hotel/Casino in Los Angeles. During the performance the 600lb white tiger, Montecore, was distracted by a woman sitting in the front row of the audience by her large hairdo. Apparently Montecore stopped performing and went to investigate this woman who tried to pet him. Roy Horn (of "Siegfried & Roy" fame) tried to stop this from happening, Montecore grabbed Horn by the forearm. Horn rapped him on the nose with a microphone, causing a loud sudden noise, and Montecore released his arm. Then Roy tripped and fell. Siegfried Fischbacher, and animal trainers rushed to the animal while Horn was down. Montecore then bent down and grabbed Roy by the neck and took him offstage. The tiger calmly paced back stage on the route that he walked during the show and attempted to go back into his cage, with Horn. At this point Horn had, had a minor stroke and lost a blood.
I'd like to see the video myself to make a better judgement of what happened, but here are some thoughts on it.
First off, I don't think Montecore attacked Roy Horn or was in any way meaning to hurt him. On the contrary, he was trying to protect him. Montecore could have been confused thinking the woman's hair was a strange unknown animal and was picking up the fallen Roy and taking him to safety off stage. The problem here was that just as a cat picks up its young, by the scruff of the neck, is how ihe picked up Roy and that's where our jugular vein is. Humans don't have that stretchy skin on the back of our neck to pick us up by. So Montecore's teeth punctured Roy's neck.
Unfortunately, in these situations there isn't usually a happy ending for the show animal. Although the animal tainers and zoo keepers know of the hazards of keeping a wild animal, in the end the animal is always blamed for its natural instincts. Wild animals best belong in their natural habitat - the wild. Why should they be punished when taken outside of their home and reacting naturally to feeling as if they are under attacked or otherwise confused by living in human habitat? Had Montecore been confused and otherwise stressed by the strange looking woman in the audience and in turn attacked Roy feeling that he himself was under attack, would this be such an unexpected thing to happen - No. He may have in fact attacked Roy at first thinking it was another of the strange animals coming up from behind, and afterwards realising it was Roy taking him to the safety of his cage.
I've had some Zoo training and witnessed first hand the accidental release of a normally caged medium sized feline. The cat desperately tried to get back into its "safe place" - the caged habitat. As strange as that may sound that is what caged animals do. Otherwise, where would their "natural habitat" be but in the far away place they were imported from that they can not possibly return to on their own.
It makes me angry that magazines like Newsweek have a front cover that reads "Tiger Terror" misleading readers about the true nature of what happened! Plus some animal "experts" claim that Montecore meant to kill Roy. Bullshit. We won't know the whole story anyway until we hear it from the mouth of Roy Horn himself, the one that best knows Montecore.
UPDATE - There has just been an exclusive interview with Siegfried Fischbacher by Larry King which explains the entire situation. Siegfried states that just after Montecore picked up Roy and moved him backstage (and released him on his own will) - Roy said, "Don't harm the tiger." Bernie Yuman, Siegfried & Roy's longtern manager states, "You know, Montecore was helping save his friend to take him to safety. That's -- this is not an attack. This was not a mauling. This is Montecore taking his friend to safety."
Siegfried & Roy Official Homepage VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
poser:
I'm glad they are not mad/going to kill the feline.
sugarc0ma5:
It's a good thing they're not going to kill Montecore, you're reading was right I see. That's cool. Aren't white tigers not natural, as in man made? Just curious, thought you might know. Let me know how the shows are this weekend. 