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.

1998:

December 9, 1998/South Africa: A 2-year-old boy was severely injured when a lion at a zoo reached under the gate of his cage and bit the boy’s hip and dragged him under the gate.

December 7, 1998/Doue-la-Fountaine, France: A 4-year-old boy was fatally mauled, and his father severely injured, by 2 jaguars who had escaped from their cage at the Doue-la-Fountaine Zoo south of Paris, France. Police killed both of the 200-pound female jaguars.

December 7, 1998/Ukraine: A lioness attacked and badly injured a worker at a Ukrainian zoo after she entered her cage thinking it was empty.

November 21, 1998/Chicago, Ill.: A Ringling Bros. circus employee was seriously mauled by a tiger used in the circus when three tigers escaped from their cage in a Chicago parking lot. The tiger clawed the handler on his neck and side. This was the second attack by tigers used by Ringling in one year. (see 1/7/98).

November 18, 1998/Kaufman, Texas: A Texas man was attacked by his "pet" lion and suffered serious injuries. The adult female lion jumped him from behind.

November 15, 1998/Chatham County, N.C.: A cougar mauled a volunteer with Carnivore Preservation Trust causing numerous bites and deep scratches.

November 13, 1998/Newberry, Fla.: The same tiger who killed his trainer on 10/8/98 attacked and killed his owner. The tiger was shot dead.

November 8, 1998/Cut and Shoot, Texas: Two "pet" tigers escaped their backyard cage and attacked a dog and a pig before being shot dead by police after charging pursuers. In 1997, a "pet" cougar kept by the same man escaped and was never re-captured.

October 8, 1998/Newberry, Fla.: A tiger attacked and killed his trainer at the Holiday’s Cat Dancer facility. The tiger had been used in the operation’s traveling animal show and featured in Shrine circuses. The tiger grabbed the trainer by the throat.

September 5, 1998/Tampa, Fla.: A woman needed 451 stitches after a leopard latched onto her arm with his mouth, removing skin from her elbow to her wrist. The woman was a volunteer at Wildlife on Easy Street, a breeding complex.

August 29, 1998/Myakka City, Fla.: A tiger bit the hand of a 14-year-old volunteer with Tiger Claw Productions. The bite stripped flesh and tendons from her hand and required two surgeries to repair.

July 31, 1998/Vallejo, Calif.: A woman taking her photo at Marine World with a Bengal tiger was mauled and hospitalized with multiple cuts to her neck and throat. A trainer trying to separate them was also injured.

July 30, 1998/Minot, N.D.: A 5-year-old boy suffered facial cuts requiring plastic surgery after being attacked by a tiger at a photo booth at the state fair.

July 13, 1998/Brisbane, Australia: During a show in front of 200 spectators, a tiger attacked his handler, picked him up, and carried him 15 feet.

May 2, 1998/Wylie, Texas: A "pet" cougar bit a 4-year-old boy on the leg. The boy required $5,800 in medical care.

May 1, 1998/Witchita, Kan.: A tiger scratched or bit an adult while the animal was appearing at a store’s promotional event.

April 7, 1998/Charlotte, N.C.: Two lions at the Charlotte Metro Zoo attacked a keeper, one biting him on the leg while the other took the man’s head in his mouth. The keeper suffered deep puncture wounds to his head and leg. He had to be airlifted to a trauma center.

April 1, 1998/Ark.: A tiger attacked a worker at a breeding compound, biting him on the neck.

February 10, 1998/Lincolnton, N.C.: A leopard nearly killed his trainer after attacking her at a Royal Palace Circus performance in North Carolina. The trainer suffered injuries requiring reconstructive surgery and hospitalization for a week.

February 8, 1998/Belfast, Ireland: A tiger escaped from his cage at the Belfast Zoo and attacked a keeper before being shot to death by police. The keeper was treated at a hospital for injuries to both legs and a hand.

January 7, 1998/St. Petersburg, Fla.: A trainer with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus suffered severe head wounds after a tiger grabbed him by the head and dragged him around the ring. He was hospitalized in critical condition and required extensive surgery. The trainer’s brother shot the tiger five times after the animal had been returned to his cage, killing him.

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