# Oh come on. A tiger whisperer? Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 16, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315 "2016-04-16T00:09:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/21 "2016-04-18T20:49:42Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > I question the policies of the zoo that allowed this woman to directly interact with the tiger. Do we know what the zoo policy actually is? So far they’ve been pretty tight-lipped about the details of what happened. Is it possible they have a “protected contact” policy, but someone screwed up and let a tiger into the room without checking first to make sure the victim wasn’t in there? Maybe the victim forgot to flip some sign that says “DON’T LET A TIGER IN THE ROOM, I’M IN THERE”? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/22 "2016-04-18T20:58:40Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > 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. My solution was he opened the door to the lady and as they walked by the tiger’s door, he opened it just far enough to shove her in. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/23 "2016-04-18T21:08:52Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > [The lady, or the tiger? and other stories : Stockton, Frank Richard, 1834-1902 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](https://archive.org/stream/ladyortigerandot00stociala#page/n5/mode/2up) > > “And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door – the lady, or the tiger?” The author spends a lot of time on the woman’s internal debate about sending him to the lady or the tiger. I wonder if the man had a similar debate about opening the door she sent him to? Within the story, he should know that the semi-barbaric princess is going to be torn between saving him (but giving him to another) and letting him die (but hers alone). Of course, your stereotypical hero is going to imagine that a woman would want him dead, so he’d probably assume that she was sending him to the lady. But would you trust her, or go for the other door? ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/24 "2016-04-18T21:35:10Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Do we know what the zoo policy actually is? So far they’ve been pretty tight-lipped about the details of what happened. Is it possible they have a “protected contact” policy, but someone screwed up and let a tiger into the room without checking first to make sure the victim wasn’t in there? Maybe the victim forgot to flip some sign that says “DON’T LET A TIGER IN THE ROOM, I’M IN THERE”? Yes, it’s very likely that protected contact was mandated, especially since the zoo is AZA accredited; there is footage on YouTube of the zoo’s tiger training session, which occurs through a fence. There’s also a news report online about a 2008 incident in which a keeper’s finger was nipped by a tiger, again through a fence. But most zoos have redundancies built in that prevent this from happening, e.g., remote gates that you can only open or close from a position of safety. It’s also possible this woman was purposefully breaking the protocol. The zoo has declined to comment so far on the actual incident, so it’s very hard to say definitively. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/25 "2016-04-18T22:06:21Z")
Tiger or chimpanzee whisperer are both jobs with low life expectancies. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/26 "2016-04-18T22:14:19Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > The author spends a lot of time on the woman’s internal debate about sending him to the lady or the tiger. I wonder if the man had a similar debate about opening the door she sent him to? > > Within the story, he should know that the semi-barbaric princess is going to be torn between saving him (but giving him to another) and letting him die (but hers alone). Of course, your stereotypical hero is going to imagine that a woman would want him dead, so he’d probably assume that she was sending him to the lady. But would you trust her, or go for the other door? The story itself says he walked with a firm step and without hesitation to the door the princess indicated. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/27 "2016-04-19T01:17:00Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > The story itself says he walked with a firm step and without hesitation to the door the princess indicated. That’s [del]a fool[/del] true love… ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/28 "2016-04-19T03:52:02Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > QFT.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. It reminds me of a quote about not loving the market because the market doesn’t love you. Foolishness. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/29 "2016-04-19T05:21:03Z")
Well, I got along with this guy for about 15 minuets, ten of which I was inside by myself. We had a nice chat. [Me & the man.](https://goo.gl/photos/gNZvapjeJTaXzm137) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/30 "2016-04-19T10:46:03Z")
You are too old, tough, and gamey to make a good meal. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/31 "2016-04-19T10:49:40Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > That’s an example of the zoo’s problem right there. Tigers don’t ‘love’ humans. Even Hobbes? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/32 "2016-04-19T10:58:08Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > The story itself says he walked with a firm step and without hesitation to the door the princess indicated. Yes, but it also says she indicated right without hesitation - she’d done all of her thinking earlier. So he presumably did the same, and had decided to go with her choice. And to continue the hijack, he may have been convinced he was opening the tiger door - that she would rather have him dead than with another woman, and he himself would rather be dead than with another. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/33 "2016-04-19T15:14:16Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Even Hobbes? > ☹ [you decide](http://hevria.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/calvin-hobbes-pounce.png). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/34 "2016-04-19T18:44:35Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Well, I got along with this guy for about 15 minuets, ten of which I was inside by myself. We had a nice chat. > > [Me & the man.](https://goo.gl/photos/gNZvapjeJTaXzm137) Ten Tiger Minuets would be a great concept album. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/35 "2016-04-20T04:36:25Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Ten Tiger Minuets would be a great concept album. I like you !!! :D:D Someone else will have to sing and play the music. I remember one simple little song from my panio lessons in grade school in 1950. Grades 3,4,5… ::: sigh :::: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315/36 "2016-04-20T06:07:25Z")
I don’t want to get all Judy Hopps but there are fundamental differences between predators and prey animals. If you “whisper” a horse into relaxing in your presence, it’s going to stop thinking of you as a possible threat and start thinking of you as a fellow member of its herd. If you “whisper” a tiger into relaxing around you, it’s going to stop thinking of you as a possible threat and start thinking of you as a possible meal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-a-tiger-whisperer-really/752315.md?page=1)