Roy Horn's tiger was distracted by woman's big hair.... - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

BoCo · 10-10-2003, 05:24 PM

<hr>
(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.

While Gary Waddell was with Steve Wynn today, he got a call from Bernie Yuman, Siegfried and Roy's manager. Yuman said that they had just brought Roy's dog to visit him in the hospital and that Roy had responded by petting the dog.

Wynn also says he's been told that they are starting to wean Roy off the life support systems in order to let his body function on its own. If that's successful, that will be a very big step in Roy's recovery.
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LINK

Esoteric · 10-10-2003, 05:51 PM

Good to know that the tiger didn't attack him. So I take it they won't be killing the tiger?

txlovely · 10-10-2003, 10:05 PM

If I happened to be the tiger, I would have been more distracted by Horn's ridiculously plastic surgery "mauled" face. Pitiful - it's kind of a nutty show, but those crazy Germans do love those tigers... got to give them credit for that I suppose. I think really that it was an evil ploy so the Mirage could get out of their long-term contract with the two aging magicians... Just a cynical thought.

zfleebin · 10-11-2003, 12:11 AM

I dont think its very cool to blame some random lady in the audience for this tragedy. I mean how can you blame it on her hair? Following that line of logic they should have had a strictly enforced dress code. Sigfreid and Roys duties as trainers were to be aware of what the cats were doing and if they could not handle a distracted cat they shouldnt have put themselves in that situation. I bet this is just a media spin that was an attempt at deflecting responsibility because this story serves no other purpose. Any half knowledgeable trainer knows that animals can be unpredictable and as the animals get larger the danger of their unpredictability increases. I might be coming off as anti sigfreid and Roy but I am not. I just think the responsibility of an animals behavior lies solely in the owners hands and there is no reason that this lady should be singled out and blamed.

Jdoe · 10-11-2003, 12:38 AM

Regardless of what actually happened, this article is a very sad attempt by a poor spin doctor. Who knows, maybe things were close to these lines. But there is no way this person would know. He contradicts himself more than once, and directly tries to move attention elsewhere more than once as well.

But it's showbusiness, so no surprise there.

Jdoe

GakFace · 10-11-2003, 01:21 AM

They made a point. if it was an attack Roy woulda been shook like prey. But to just be picked up and carried off stage... it just so happened that sharp teeth can puncture human skin. The mouth works on animals of the same time, Roy was human.. makes sense something could have gone wrong. I hope it all works out in the end. I'm willing to bet when Roy is good once more.. He'll have good things to say about the animal.

Fremen · 10-11-2003, 01:33 AM

Was the lady was from Texas?

ARTelevision · 10-11-2003, 04:43 AM

yes.
spin-doctoring the story.
there's been a lot of PETA-type excuse-making for all this.

...as if tigers are pussycats.
sheesh

little limey · 10-11-2003, 06:19 AM

zfleebin: I don't think that the responaibility for an animals behavior is all on the trainer. It's like blaming a parent for a child's behavior once they are of age. Tigers have minds of their own and a very strong bahavioral nature.

The hair excuse is not a good one though. You think the tigers would be used to that kind of hair from all of thier Las Vegas shows. Anyway, hasn't Roy had some outrageous hair himself?

Also, eyewitnesses are rarely reliable.

sexymama · 10-11-2003, 07:28 AM

I don't hear blame being placed; just an observation made. I think the point of the story is that the tiger did not attack and was not acting "normal" as was distracted. No one needs to feel guilt in this situation as no one knew how the tiger would react.

danielboy · 10-12-2003, 03:37 PM

I saw seigfreid on Larry King last night and he said the same thing. HE said that the tiger was actually saving Roy and not hurting him. I think that that is a crazy way to save someone. I don't get it. Also, are Sigfreid and Roy a couple? Sigfreid seems to be selling out his buddy in this.

Peryn · 10-12-2003, 07:20 PM

i have absolutely no doubt that the tiger was distracted. Possibly even by someones hair. Their is no reason to blame her though. Large animals, tigers especially, have VERY strong instincts that are next to impossible to get rid of. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the tiger was NOT acting agressivly. It probably took a lot of training just to get the animal to react that way. Instinct would be that if the animal thought the hair was a threat, he would have attacked the lady, not ran away with Roy. I am amazed that they were able to train the animals agressive instincts so that it wouldnt attack. And he abviously wasn't attacking Roy, or he would be dead. Ever played with your dog some sort of tug-of-war game? He pulls hard and then gived a wicked shake of his head, neck and body all at the right time. This exerts tremendous force, and is an instinctual movement from dog used to grab and snap the neck of their prey. Dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, and yet these tendencies still cannot be stopped. Training a tiger, an animal that hasn'e even begun to be domesticated, to not attack, but rather protect and "save" its trainer is an awesome feat to say the least.

As for whos responsibility it is, it doens't really matter. Those who go to the show know that their are basically wild animals, anmd very dangerous ones at that, involved. Their is a slight risk involved simply in being a spectator in a situation like that. The actors or magicians even, also knew there was a very large risk to themselves, and it taking 13 years or so for something like this to happen is a large testament to their ability to handle and train a large cat.

Now, whatever i may have against roy and sigfreid as people and their lifestyles, they have an awesome job. How cool would it be to play with tigers all day long? that has got to be the most cool job available.i mean jheez! their friggin tigers! I admire their ability to handle one of the most amazing cats on the planet.

H12 · 10-12-2003, 10:17 PM

I'm not sure how much I buy the "distracted by her hair" thing, but the rest is fairly believable to me.

Ashton · 10-13-2003, 01:49 PM

It wasn't her hair.... It was her perfume, 'Tiger Distracter #5'

yournamehere · 10-13-2003, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fremen
Was the lady was from Texas?

Or the 80s.

powder · 10-14-2003, 07:54 AM

jujueye · 10-14-2003, 01:49 PM

I'm not sure what to think. Nice spin if it is. Although, Siegfried has mentioned since the beginning that the tiger was distracted. I'm sure this is as accurate account as possible, given that it probaably all happened in under a minute.

(yes, I tried to delete my previous (duplicate) post. no such luck. hey, two jujus are better than one)

Soggybagel · 10-14-2003, 09:54 PM

Okay, from what I've read and gathered...sure maybe the Tiger got distracted...but I think I agree with the Tiger trying to "save" Roy. He fell and the tiger grabbed him...Danielboy. The reason was he grabbed him by the neck and since his teeth are very sharp and what not he got hurt...but I also agree that those guys very much love the tigers and never would blame them. They realized the risks and accidents do happen. Its quite obvious that the tiger could have just as easily jumped off the stage and killed a lot of people if that was truely its intention.

sadatx · 10-14-2003, 10:11 PM

They train the animals to be docile during a show and they act exactly how they are trained.

But a docile tiger is still a tiger and it's common for a tiger to pick up a smaller cub and carry it in the tiger's mouth. But unlike a cub a human doesn't have the tough skin around his or her neck that a cub does. So when a tiger picks up a person by the neck, no matter how gently, it's teeth will rip a whole in that persons neck.

When it comes down to it, as long as there have been large wild animals in show business there have been accidents like this one.

I think it's a testament to how well Siegfried & Roy train and take care of their animals that something like this hasn't happened before, in all the years they've been performing.

cetacean · 10-15-2003, 07:07 PM

I am sure they take great care of the tigers and many other big cats, but I don't think it is right for anyone to own these animals.

10-10-2003, 05:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
BoCo Fear the bunny Location: Hanging off the tip of the Right Wing	Roy Horn's tiger was distracted by woman's big hair.... <hr> (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. While Gary Waddell was with Steve Wynn today, he got a call from Bernie Yuman, Siegfried and Roy's manager. Yuman said that they had just brought Roy's dog to visit him in the hospital and that Roy had responded by petting the dog. Wynn also says he's been told that they are starting to wean Roy off the life support systems in order to let his body function on its own. If that's successful, that will be a very big step in Roy's recovery. <hr> LINK __________________ Activism is a way for useless people to feel important.

10-10-2003, 05:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
Esoteric Tired Location: Florida	Good to know that the tiger didn't attack him. So I take it they won't be killing the tiger? __________________ From a head full of pressure rests the senses that I clutch Made a date with Divinity, but she wouldn't let me fuck I got touched by a hazy shaded, God help me change Caught a rush on the floor from the life in my veins

10-10-2003, 10:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
txlovely Insane Location: ...We have a problem.	If I happened to be the tiger, I would have been more distracted by Horn's ridiculously plastic surgery "mauled" face. Pitiful - it's kind of a nutty show, but those crazy Germans do love those tigers... got to give them credit for that I suppose. I think really that it was an evil ploy so the Mirage could get out of their long-term contract with the two aging magicians... Just a cynical thought. __________________ Cruel words erode self-esteem like the ocean eats away the shore.

10-11-2003, 01:21 AM	#6 (permalink)
GakFace Go Ninja, Go Ninja Go!! Location: IN, USA	They made a point. if it was an attack Roy woulda been shook like prey. But to just be picked up and carried off stage... it just so happened that sharp teeth can puncture human skin. The mouth works on animals of the same time, Roy was human.. makes sense something could have gone wrong. I hope it all works out in the end. I'm willing to bet when Roy is good once more.. He'll have good things to say about the animal. __________________ RoboBlaster: Welcome to the club! Not that I'm in the club. And there really isn'a a club in the first place. But if there was a club and if I was in it, I would definitely welcome you to it.

10-11-2003, 01:33 AM	#7 (permalink)
Fremen With a mustache, the cool factor would be too much Location: left side of my couch, East Texas	Was the lady was from Texas? __________________ Google

10-11-2003, 12:11 AM	#4 (permalink)
zfleebin Addict	I dont think its very cool to blame some random lady in the audience for this tragedy. I mean how can you blame it on her hair? Following that line of logic they should have had a strictly enforced dress code. Sigfreid and Roys duties as trainers were to be aware of what the cats were doing and if they could not handle a distracted cat they shouldnt have put themselves in that situation. I bet this is just a media spin that was an attempt at deflecting responsibility because this story serves no other purpose. Any half knowledgeable trainer knows that animals can be unpredictable and as the animals get larger the danger of their unpredictability increases. I might be coming off as anti sigfreid and Roy but I am not. I just think the responsibility of an animals behavior lies solely in the owners hands and there is no reason that this lady should be singled out and blamed.

10-11-2003, 12:38 AM	#5 (permalink)
Jdoe Crazy	Regardless of what actually happened, this article is a very sad attempt by a poor spin doctor. Who knows, maybe things were close to these lines. But there is no way this person would know. He contradicts himself more than once, and directly tries to move attention elsewhere more than once as well. But it's showbusiness, so no surprise there. Jdoe

10-11-2003, 04:43 AM	#8 (permalink)
ARTelevision I change Location: USA	yes. spin-doctoring the story. there's been a lot of PETA-type excuse-making for all this. ...as if tigers are pussycats. sheesh __________________ create evolution

10-11-2003, 06:19 AM	#9 (permalink)
little limey Psycho Location: Room Nineteen	zfleebin: I don't think that the responaibility for an animals behavior is all on the trainer. It's like blaming a parent for a child's behavior once they are of age. Tigers have minds of their own and a very strong bahavioral nature. The hair excuse is not a good one though. You think the tigers would be used to that kind of hair from all of thier Las Vegas shows. Anyway, hasn't Roy had some outrageous hair himself? Also, eyewitnesses are rarely reliable.

10-11-2003, 07:28 AM	#10 (permalink)
sexymama My own person -- his by choice Location: Lebell's arms	I don't hear blame being placed; just an observation made. I think the point of the story is that the tiger did not attack and was not acting "normal" as was distracted. No one needs to feel guilt in this situation as no one knew how the tiger would react. __________________ If you can go deeply into lovemaking, the ego disappears. That is the beauty of lovemaking, that it is another source of a glimpse of god It's not about being perfect; it's about developing some skill at managing imperfection.

10-12-2003, 03:37 PM	#11 (permalink)
danielboy Tilted	I saw seigfreid on Larry King last night and he said the same thing. HE said that the tiger was actually saving Roy and not hurting him. I think that that is a crazy way to save someone. I don't get it. Also, are Sigfreid and Roy a couple? Sigfreid seems to be selling out his buddy in this.

10-12-2003, 07:20 PM	#12 (permalink)
Peryn Junkie Location: San Diego, CA.	i have absolutely no doubt that the tiger was distracted. Possibly even by someones hair. Their is no reason to blame her though. Large animals, tigers especially, have VERY strong instincts that are next to impossible to get rid of. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the tiger was NOT acting agressivly. It probably took a lot of training just to get the animal to react that way. Instinct would be that if the animal thought the hair was a threat, he would have attacked the lady, not ran away with Roy. I am amazed that they were able to train the animals agressive instincts so that it wouldnt attack. And he abviously wasn't attacking Roy, or he would be dead. Ever played with your dog some sort of tug-of-war game? He pulls hard and then gived a wicked shake of his head, neck and body all at the right time. This exerts tremendous force, and is an instinctual movement from dog used to grab and snap the neck of their prey. Dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, and yet these tendencies still cannot be stopped. Training a tiger, an animal that hasn'e even begun to be domesticated, to not attack, but rather protect and "save" its trainer is an awesome feat to say the least. As for whos responsibility it is, it doens't really matter. Those who go to the show know that their are basically wild animals, anmd very dangerous ones at that, involved. Their is a slight risk involved simply in being a spectator in a situation like that. The actors or magicians even, also knew there was a very large risk to themselves, and it taking 13 years or so for something like this to happen is a large testament to their ability to handle and train a large cat. Now, whatever i may have against roy and sigfreid as people and their lifestyles, they have an awesome job. How cool would it be to play with tigers all day long? that has got to be the most cool job available.i mean jheez! their friggin tigers! I admire their ability to handle one of the most amazing cats on the planet. __________________ Dont cry kid, It's not your fault you suck.

10-12-2003, 10:17 PM	#13 (permalink)
H12 I'm not about getting creamed, I'm about winning! Location: K-Town, TN	I'm not sure how much I buy the "distracted by her hair" thing, but the rest is fairly believable to me. __________________ "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit." --Aristotle

10-13-2003, 01:49 PM	#14 (permalink)
Ashton PORNHOUND Location: California	It wasn't her hair.... It was her perfume, 'Tiger Distracter #5'

10-14-2003, 07:54 AM	#16 (permalink)
powder Loser Location: ski town

10-14-2003, 01:49 PM	#17 (permalink)
jujueye alpaca lunch for the trip Location: in my computer	I'm not sure what to think. Nice spin if it is. Although, Siegfried has mentioned since the beginning that the tiger was distracted. I'm sure this is as accurate account as possible, given that it probaably all happened in under a minute. (yes, I tried to delete my previous (duplicate) post. no such luck. hey, two jujus are better than one) Last edited by jujueye; 10-14-2003 at 02:09 PM..

10-14-2003, 09:54 PM	#18 (permalink)
Soggybagel Psycho Location: Lovely City #1	Okay, from what I've read and gathered...sure maybe the Tiger got distracted...but I think I agree with the Tiger trying to "save" Roy. He fell and the tiger grabbed him...Danielboy. The reason was he grabbed him by the neck and since his teeth are very sharp and what not he got hurt...but I also agree that those guys very much love the tigers and never would blame them. They realized the risks and accidents do happen. Its quite obvious that the tiger could have just as easily jumped off the stage and killed a lot of people if that was truely its intention.

10-14-2003, 10:11 PM	#19 (permalink)
sadatx Psycho	They train the animals to be docile during a show and they act exactly how they are trained. But a docile tiger is still a tiger and it's common for a tiger to pick up a smaller cub and carry it in the tiger's mouth. But unlike a cub a human doesn't have the tough skin around his or her neck that a cub does. So when a tiger picks up a person by the neck, no matter how gently, it's teeth will rip a whole in that persons neck. When it comes down to it, as long as there have been large wild animals in show business there have been accidents like this one. I think it's a testament to how well Siegfried & Roy train and take care of their animals that something like this hasn't happened before, in all the years they've been performing.

10-15-2003, 07:07 PM	#20 (permalink)
cetacean Insane Location: New York, NY	I am sure they take great care of the tigers and many other big cats, but I don't think it is right for anyone to own these animals.