Tiger attacks Roy. Cool!

“(CNN) -- One of the tigers in Siegfried & Roy's Las Vegas show bit Roy Horn in the neck Friday night, seriously injuring him, according to a spokesman for MGM Mirage.

Emergency officials treated Horn at the Mirage Hotel-Casino around 8:20 p.m. (10:20 p.m. ET), for massive blood loss.

Clark County Fire spokesman Bob Leinbach said Horn was talking at the time emergency workers arrived, but had trouble breathing.

He was immediately transported to University Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery. The hospital would not release his condition.

Horn, who was born in Nordenham, Germany, just turned 59 Thursday. Combining magic with tiger stunts, the duo has performed on the Las Vegas strip for nearly 30 years.

The tiger is currently in quarantine and no one else was injured in the attack, according to Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman.”

“Do you think Roy tasted GGGRRRREAT!!”

“Which one is he, brown hair or blonde?

I saw the show about 10 years ago and *IT* is COOL!”

“Well that will show once again just what idiots Peta people are!!!
Siegfried and Roy have done more to save rare and endangered tigers than peta ever has or will!! Siegfried and Roy are called upon by zoos all over the world for help with breeding rare tigers and they are considered experts in this feild! They are more than just a Vegas act! Yeah they are queer as 8 dollar bills but nobody is perfect. LOL Streamweaver”

“I also saw an afternoon show with magician Rick Thomas at the Tropicana a few years back. He had a least one (maybe more) white tiger(s) in his show he had purchased from Siegfried & Roy. Now that is the way to go, the afternoon show!! Magic, dancing girls, a staged production that was excellent -- and all ONLY $12. (OK, by now probably $24!)”

“Roy is the dark haired one.”

“"Do you think Roy tasted GGGRRRREAT!!"

.................ask Siegfried!”

“I think Roy is also the gay one.”

“Poor tiger. Now he's prolly gonna get AIDS.”

“It was the tigers' first time on stage ever. I'm surprised the cat wasn't more acclimated. Stupid people thought Roy getting dragged away by the neck and screamimg from behind a curtain was part of the show. Those 2 guys are major advocates of big cat conservation efforts worldwide.”

“Well, ya know the show does get into major theatrics and it is, after all, MAGIC!!

Who woulda thunk an elephant would disappear from right in front of a person??!?

OK,I thought Roy was the dark-haired guy. And pantscandy (going back to the gay-sounding name, are we???? HUMMMmmmmmmm?? lol) what do you mean he is the gay one??? Siegried's not?!?

I always thought Roy was cute. And aren't they amazingly well preserved for their ages? Kinda like Dick Clark. (ooops, lizs said "dick") lol”

“Here kitty kitty!


Down KITTY!”

“Gee, do you think the tiger was merely demonstrating its displeasure for being forced into an environment that is very far removed from its natural habitat? What a concept!”

“

the one who got bitten is in the white jacket”

“The white tigers are a genetic mutation and the ones they have are horribly inbred. Basically they are wild animals who will never be wild and for someone to get hurt is hardly a surprise.”

“Speaking of inbred, take a look at that picture!”

“Tigers don't like queers.

Kill all Tigers.”

“Lol at Phaedrus.”

“This seems to be a very informative link about white tigers. The in-breeding among the living white tigers appears to be very severe.”

“Roy is "stable but critical" according to their website.”

“Bummer that Roy got bit. BTW, the tiger had been performing on stage for a number of years - the 'first time on stage' line is pure showbiz hype.

I've seen the show in Las Vegas, but more interesting was seeing the compound where they keep and raise the tigers (like everything in Vegas, its been turned from just a private facility into an attraction, too). About 60 tigers & lions in all.

Even if the stage show is closed down, it would be neat to keep the compound open.”

“I don't really care for the guys, but to make fun of someone that is in critical condition is in poor taste. I wouldn't expect anything less from Alaska. Just shows his character.”

“wow, what a trip. can't imagine being at the show and seeing it happen. how horrifying.”

“The official word is that vet suggested more fruit in the tiger's diet.”

“Ay caramba Nigal, speaking of poor taste!”

“ROFLMAO Nigal!

I heard it was a demo shoot for the new reality TV show "Tiger Maul for the Queer Doll" show.”

“Hey man, ya take a wild beast from it's natural habitat, put it in front of thousands of people for their amusment, make millions off this exploitation, smack the thing on the nose with a mic and get attacked. Sorry, no sympathy coming form me. He should have been mauled years ago.”

“"Hey man, ya take a wild beast from it's natural habitat, put it in front of thousands of people for their amusment"

---Nigal

Dude, Vegas is a natural habitat for Miami-Vice Fans!”

“Here's news for you jgeils: people deserve what they get.

PREVITI: No. Because the whole time, he never seemed to struggle. And he never seemed to freak out in any way. You would think, you know, he'd be screaming or his arms and legs would be waving. ... It's funny because earlier in the show they had a segment where they had the tiger in the cage and were showing the audience, 'look how scary this tiger is.' And they were taunting it from outside the cage making [it], you know, claw [its] arms out of the cage and growl. So there was a point in the show when they were showing the tiger was dangerous. So it almost in a way seemed to fit. You could justify it that way.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/10/06/cnna.previti.cooper/index.html



Can you read that? Can you? They were TAUNTING the cat!!! They deserve what they got.”

“Roy should be use to being bitten on the neck, what with being Siegfrieds boyfriend and all.

I heard they're going to have to put down the tiger...so it doesn't spread aids to the other cats.”

“ROFLMAO Buddur!”

“October 6, 2003


Roy Horn and Siegfried Fischbacher
c/o University Medical Center Community Relations
1800 W. Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89102


Dear Roy and Siegfried:


First, let me express our best wishes and sincere hope that Roy will make a full recovery.


As you might imagine, our warm wishes also include a plea to get out of the sad business of breaking the spirit of wild animals and forcing them to perform. Perhaps Friday’s frightening incident will make you realize that a brightly lit stage with pounding music and a screaming audience is not the natural habitat for tigers, lions, or any other exotic animals. The only natural thing that happened on that stage was that this majestic animal lashed out against a captor who was beating him with a microphone because he wouldn’t do a trick. No matter how much you say that you love the wild animals whom you have confined continents away from their natural homes, you are still the men who have subjugated their wills and natures to further your own careers.


We, as well as thousands who’ve called us from around the world, urge you and the Mirage to use some of the millions of dollars you’ve made from exotic animals to build a state-of-the-art sanctuary and immediately retire Montecore and all the other animals in your compound. You are now in a unique position to show the world both that you have lived and learned and that you have true respect for animals by leaving them some shred of the life that nature intended.


Sincerely,


Dan Mathews
PETA Vice President”

“For years, Horn and Siegfried Fischbacher have performed their animal-magic act, consistently drawing sold-out crowds. The duo signed a lifetime contract with The Mirage in 2001.

Hotel officials announced Saturday the show has been closed, and its 267 employees have been told to find new employment. A majority of the workers are employed by the hotel, which will try to place them.”

“Sigfried said the show will go on. He doesn't know when etc.”

“Steve Wynn Gives Exclusive Interview

(Oct. 8) -- Casino mogul Steve Wynn is one of the people who best knows Siegfried and Roy. He is one of the duos closest friends. He hired the illusionists when he built The Mirage in 1990. He even built a special theater just for their show.

Wynn gave an exclusive interview to Eyewitness News Anchor, Gary Waddell on Wednesday. He explained, "What happened Friday night was a fluke, something that never should have occurred. And something that no one could have foreseen." He continued to say, "That even as Roy was being carried off stage by the tiger, he was saying he didn't want anything to happen to the cat."

Even though Wynn was in Idaho on Friday night when the incident happened, he was one of the first people called. He flew home Saturday morning and went straight to the hospital to visit Roy. He then began the task of trying to figure out what went wrong.

Wynn said he is certain that Montecore did not attack Roy Horn. He refers to attack reports as being false. Instead, he says it was a string of unfortunate events that led to the tiger carrying Roy off the stage. He described it as being similar to how a tiger would carry a cub. "Montecore would never attack Roy. In a way, the tiger was trying to protect him," Wynn said.

Wynn says he spoke to many people who were on the scene and pieced together the following set of circumstances that preceded Roy being injured.

"As Roy was leading Montecore out to stage front on a lease, the cat became fascinated and distracted by woman with a big hairdo in the front row." Wynn says instead of Montecore following Roy through his usual routine, the cat became fascinated with a woman in the audience that had a big hairdo. "For whatever reason, Montecore was fascinated and distracted by the guest sitting ringside."

"Montecore got down on all fours and put his 26-inch head four inches away from of the woman. She thinks this is adorable and part of the show and reaches out to try and rub him under his chin. Roy is talking and sees this move. That's way wrong all the way around. As usual, the heroic fellow that he is, Roy jumps between the woman and the tiger."

Wynn says at that point, Roy tried to get the tiger's attention by pulling back on the leash and saying, "No, no, no, no. Come on, get up". Wynn adds that Montecore resisted, as if to say, "No, I'm not ready yet." Roy continued to command him to get up.

"The tiger gently reached up and grabbed Roy's right arm with his jaws between Roy's elbow and wrist in a very gentle way," Wynn said, pointing out that Roy did not receive a scratch on his arm, nor was his costume torn. "That's how gentle Montecore's grip was on Roy."

"Roy loudly commanded the cat to release its grip by saying, "No, no, no, no. Release, release," several times. He had to whack him with the rubber microphone several times to try and get the tiger to release the grip. This didn't hurt the tiger, but it did make a loud noise."

"Roy continued to pull on Montecore's leash not realizing that one of the cat's paws was behind his leg." According to Wynn, Roy tripped over the paw and fell backward on the stage and was lying on his back. He said that four stagehands then rushed out and jumped on the cat. Wynn believes Montecore was confused and reacted by trying to carry Roy off the stage to safety.

Wynn says Montecore just leaned over Roy and picked him up like he was a cub. Wynn says it was not a bite or an attack. "There was no damage to Roy's neck, but there were two puncture wounds and one of those teeth went through Roy's vertebral artery and severed it -- the one behind his neck -- that's what caused the stroke and massive bleeding putting him in a near-death situation."

Wynn says Montecore walked off the stage as if he were finishing his routine and even attempts to go back into his cage carrying Roy. Stagehands backstage used a technique that made Montecore release Roy. That technique reportedly involved spraying the tiger with a fire extinguisher.

Roy was then rushed to UMC.

Wynn underscores that Montecore was acting to protect Roy. He explained that during a lethal attack, a predator's instinct is to violently grab its prey by the neck, vigorously shaking its head and snapping the neck of its prey. He says this is not what happened.”

“Blame it all on the big haired lady!”

“That was nice of that tiger to protect Roy like that. Gooood kitty.

Now go protect seigfried!”

“Right, and Rush Limbaugh was trying to protect his housekeeper from falling into poverty by employing her to buy drugs.”

“that's not what happened. what happened is a friggin wild animal ate a person......just like that fruity bear dude and his girlfriend in alaska got ate by bears.....

hope he recovers but he should leave the tigers alone....”

“LMAO!”