I grieve for this woman, I do. But in the film clip accompanying the report she is reported as being a self-styled ‘tiger whisperer’. I’m sorry but it’s small wonder she’s dead. You can get away with this whispering BS with horses but a damned tiger? Kid yourself all you like that you have some magical affinity with the tiger by whispering sweet nothings in its ear but the reality is that the animal couldn’t give a shit what you think you’re doing. When it feels like it it will casually tear you to pieces in a heartbeat. That’s what it does. That’s what it’s for! And no amount of whispering will stop it.
As I said, I grieve for this woman. But she was living on borrowed time under a dangerous self-delusion.
It is by no means nonsense: i am putting together a training package for this very lucrative ability, directly mailing very selected people with the course details for only $300. ( Plus the transport to the cage of the nearest agreeable tiger. )
Remember, the very worse thing you can do is to show fear.
I question the policies of the zoo that allowed this woman to directly interact with the tiger. Protected contact has been the norm in most accredited US zoos for decades now, where interactions between humans and animals always take place through a barrier. It’s not just for big cats and elephants, either, I’ve been backstage at zoos which mandate protected contact husbandry for peccaries, antelope, zebras, camels, etc.
It’s very sad that this woman was killed. Let’s hope her death prompts this, and other zoos, to reexamine their safety policies.
The zoo spokeswoman: “Konwiser had been working with tigers at the zoo for three years and was “passionate” about them. “She loved tigers and they loved her,” she said.”
That’s an example of the zoo’s problem right there. Tigers don’t ‘love’ humans. At the very best they will tolerate them at times. This zoo needs to establish protected contact immediately, for the protection of the tigers as well as the humans.
Here’s the thing: even if a tiger DID love me, he could still kill me easily without meaning to.
Ever see two adult tigers “playing”? Well, if a tiger who LIKED me tried to “play” with me that way, it could easily break my neck or rip out a chunk of my flesh.
Eh, they probably will bond affectionately with human handlers, especially when raised by them.
The problem is as astorian notes - they’re too freaking powerful to trust. And even the most habituated animal is going to have an off day eventually and get triggered, whether by being startled, annoyed or whatever. There were long-term animal trainers that made their living for decades wrangling big cats up close and personal, including a few women. But read much about them and you’ll come across a litany of mauling incidents any one of which could have easily been a fatality.
ETA: So, yeah - agreed. Idiots all around in this one.
I have noted on more than one occasion that if my cats were larger they wouldn’t be safe to live with. Not because they don’t seem genuinely affecionate towards me (they do), but because they’re cats. They launch sneak attacks on my feet. One minute they’re curled up, purring and happy while I pet them, the next second they’re latched onto my arm with all 5 pointy ends because, um, cat reasons? One of mine likes to sit on top of the armchair I’m in, wrap her paws around my head to hold it still and try to groom my hair. Her claws are out.
Note I don’t encourage any of the rough stuff with my kitties, but they’re cats. They’re just hard wired a certain way. The thought of hanging out with tigers astounds me. Yes, I’m sure they’re affecionate with people they know. I’m also certain that something will trip their trigger and there goes your foot, or head, or…
At least alligators are predictable. They have a set of stereotypical behaviors and you always know what an alligator is capable of.
A tiger is completely different. Tigers get bored, they get annoyed, they get silly. As others have noted, I’ve been swatted hard and nipped and clawed by plenty of housecats. This is wasn’t them treating me as prey, it was the cat treating me like they’d treat another cat. Cats swat each other, they nip each other, they knock each other over, they see another cat walking along and pounce on them, they wrestle, they engage in dominance behavior. For fun.
The worst that happens with a domestic cat is you get a nasty gouge. Now scale that 10 pound housecat up to a 200 pound tiger. Pretty much the same behaviors, except 20 times more dangerous. I’ve had a housecat sitting on my lap peacefully and suddenly got swatted for absolutely no reason that I could see. What happens when a tiger does the same thing?
I was in high school when we had to write an essay explaining what we thought was behind the door. I said the lady. See, the tiger would have killed the guy, and the princess would have lost him forever. But the lady, even if married to the guy, could be quietly offed later, and the guy would be free.
