When Animals Attack: Big Cats

Incidents in 2003    Incidents in 2002    Incidents in 2001    Incidents in 2000    Incidents in 1999    Incidents in 1998    Incidents in 1997    Incidents in 1996    Incidents in 1995-1990

The following is a partial listing of incidents involving captive big cats since 1990. These incidents have resulted in the killing of 87 big cats, 53 human deaths, and more than 180 human injuries. Contact PETA for documentation.

2003:

October 3, 2003/Las Vegas, Nev.: While walking a tiger across the stage on a leash, Roy Horn of the Siegfried & Roy casino act was mauled and critically injured by a tiger during a show. The tiger bit Horn on the right arm, then lunged at him, bit him on the neck, and dragged him across the stage in front of more than 1,500 horrified tourists. Horn suffered bite wounds and massive blood loss. The 7-year-old tiger had been performing in the show since he was 6 months old.

September 20, 2003/Baghad, Iraq: A U.S. soldier shot and killed a tiger at the Baghdad Zoo after the tiger bit off the finger and clawed the arm of another soldier who was feeding him through the bars of the cage.

September 4, 2003/Alexandria, Egypt: A tiger pounced on a circus trainer during an act, causing deep cuts to his face and a broken jaw.

August 21, 2003/Whetstone Township, Ohio: A chained 180-pound "pet" cougar snapped his collar, escaped, and attacked a neighbor's dog, causing more than 100 lacerations.

August 14, 2003/St. Louis, Mo.: A cheetah at the St. Louis Zoo escaped from her enclosure--by going through a 12-foot wide moat and over a 12-foot high wall--and walked among visitors before being recaptured.

August 8, 2003/Dhaka, Bangladesh: A zookeeper fainted when a tiger escaped from his cage at the Bangladesh Zoo. The tiger roamed freely for an hour.

July 29, 2003/Chisinau, Moldova: A tiger at a zoo bit off a 10-year-old girl's arm when she reached into the tiger's cage and tried to pet him.

July 18, 2003/Chihuahua, Mexico: A 12-year-old New Mexico boy, vacationing in Mexico, nearly lost his finger when he was bitten by a jaguar at a petting zoo. The child's finger received 42 stitches.

July 3, 2003/La Crosse, Wis.: A tiger mauled circus trainer Bruno Blaszak in front of 400 people during his show at a festival. The tiger charged at Blaszak, knocked him down, and clawed him. His right leg required 30 to 40 stitches.

June 30, 2003/Calhan, Colo.: Two tigers severely mauled an employee of Big Cats of Serenity Springs as he entered their cage. The employee was knocked down by one tiger and suffered a mangled leg and scalp injuries. As a result, the tigers were beaten with shovels and later killed.

June 23, 2003/Crossett, Ark.: A firefighter visiting the Crossett Zoo suffered a deep laceration and lost part of his thumb when he was bitten by a tiger.

May 28, 2003/Nampa, Idaho: At a roadside zoo called For the Birds, where visitors are allowed to pet tigers, a toddler was jumped on and licked by a 170-pound tiger. Other zoo visitors and employees have been jumped on and bitten by tigers.

April 28, 2003/Russia: Two lions escaped from their cage, which had been left open, and killed a circus trainer. Police shot and killed the lions.

April 23, 2003/Colmenar Viejo, Spain: A tiger with the Italian-owned International Circus bit off the right arm and caused serious injury to the left arm of a man who approached the his cage.

April 23, 2003/Tokyo, Japan: Several lions attacked and killed an animal handler who was patrolling the grounds at a drive-through facility called African Safari Park.

April 6, 2003/San Antonio, Texas: A lion from Wild Animal Orphanage escaped and roamed through a northwest area neighborhood for several hours. An employee required hospital treatment for a fractured pelvic bone and bruised rib when the lion charged and knocked her down as she attempted to shoot the animal with a tranquilizer dart. The lion was shot and killed by four police officers armed with handguns and shotguns.

April 2, 2003/Adair, Okla.: Several tigers belonging to the International Wildlife Center of Texas and boarded at Safari Joe's Rock Creek Exotic Animal Park attacked and killed a handler. One tiger grabbed her arm and pulled her into the cage as she was giving them water, and other tigers in the cage pounced on her. Another worker beat the tigers with a shovel to break up the attack and to retrieve the woman's body and her severed arm. The tigers were displayed at fairs and used in photo ops with the public.

March 31, 2003/Hennepin, Ill.: As he entered their pen to shift them to another enclosure, a man was mauled to death by two tigers he kept in a backyard menagerie. Police shot and killed both tigers in order to retrieve the body. This was the second incident at the Second Nature Exotic Cats Sanctuary (see May 26, 2002/Hennepin, Ill.).

March 23, 2003/Sacramento, Calif.: A keeper at the Sacramento Zoo was hospitalized and treated for puncture wounds to his neck, right shoulder, and left leg after he was attacked by a 325-pound tiger while he was preparing to feed the animal. Another worker beat the tiger on the head with a shovel to stop the attack.

March 16, 2003/Dehiwela, Sri Lanka: A leopard at the Colombo Zoo reached through the bars of his cage and attacked an infant, causing severe head injuries.

February 4, 2003/Jacksonville, Fla.: A 450-pound tiger with UniverSoul Circus escaped while the cage was being cleaned. The tiger climbed a car, jumped over a fence, headed down an alley, frightened employees at a nearby restaurant, and was recaptured 10 minutes later.

January 30, 2003/Benimantell, Spain: A lion bit off a British woman's arm at the elbow as she attempted to pet the animal while touring a zoo.

January 24, 2003/Albert Lea, Minn.: A malnourished tiger cub was seized from a home in a residential neighborhood after school officials learned that scratches and bite marks on a fifth-grade boy were caused by his father's "pet" tiger.

January 17, 2003/Hubei Province, China: Two lions at Wuhan Forest Safari Park mauled a keeper to death as he entered their cage to feed them, then escaped and ran loose for hours before being recaptured.

January 8, 2003/Laurens, S.C.: A 200-pound "pet" cougar was recaptured in a residential neighborhood after he had escaped from a pen 5 miles away and roamed freely for three days.

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