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Originally posted by shootaway:
Was he brave or stupid?

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Originally posted by ijl:
Rest in peace.

I raised two lion cubs many years ago. From six weeks, lived in the house, the whole 9, members of the family. I don't know how the Adamsons or Norman Carr raised theirs, but as mine grew large enough to be released into an enclosure in the park, they were not pets. Lions are just too damn big; we all know what it's like to have a bad hair day and they have them as well. They were habituated, and could never be released into the wild, but we had a policy that no one, ever, would enter their enclosed area alone.

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Originally posted by tomahawker:
It’s the size. If house cats weighed 350 lbs. they wouldn’t take no shit from us either.

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Do you all remember Siegfried and Roy and the attack here in Las Vegas during a sold out show?

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And I also am familiar with the "discussion" afterwards about events leading up to the attack. Are you? The tiger was not "blamed" for the attack. The trainer had some comments about the event.

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Originally posted by BaxterB:
I forget what country, maybe India, but workers in the field wear Halloween masks backwards on their heads to help prevent rear attacks.

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Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:

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And I also am familiar with the "discussion" afterwards about events leading up to the attack. Are you? The tiger was not "blamed" for the attack. The trainer had some comments about the event.

Ah, yes indeed I am. I have lived here in Vegas for 37 years. In fact, I was there that evening with my wife and in-laws celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary-as that was the only thing that they wanted to do to celebrate. I believe that it was also Roy's 59th birthday. To say that the attack was traumatic for the audience is a total understatement. Although there are differing opinions as to whether it was an "attack" or a response by the tiger to protect or save Roy, etc. etc. Here are some facts as I recall them from reading our local news articles following the incident: The surgeons had to literally remove a quarter of Roy's skull after the incident to alleviate swelling; Roy had a major stroke and was paralyzed on the left side of his body after the incident due to, it is believed, the injury by the tiger to his neck. You are right on one thing: to this day Roy does not blame the Tiger and believes that he was having the stroke before the incident; however, many others have their differing opinions, and I have mine. Now, let's look at some other 'habituated' wild animal episodes in the last 10-15 years. In 2008 a trained Grizzly Bear in California named Rocky, attacked the trainer's nephew during the filming of an advertisement. The nephew was standing next to the bear and the bear began licking his face. Within a split second the bear mauled the nephew crushing his windpipe and severing the jugular vein and carotid artery. The nephew was dead on his feet as he fell to the ground. I watched that one on a documentary one evening and it showed it in all of its gory detail. Then there's Timothy Treadwell, the famous bear man who was eaten, along with his girlfriend, by some wild Alaskan bears that he had spent considerable time with over a number of summers and with some he had even named. I'm sure that there are others that could come to mind, but I'm sure you get the point: Wild animals are wild. Give them a chance at your weakness and eventually they will capitalize on it.