Ambulances have to be on-site at football games and rodeos, it seems like they should also be on-site when people are performing with huge, flesh-eating kittycats. Sheesh.
Wild animals belong in the wild.
It’s as simple as that. Want to know why this happened? The cat realized that instead of roaming the jungle with his proud bretheren he had been forced into this existence as a cheap amusement for his captors, and it was payback time.
[ul]Inside one of the showrooms, Gunter and Ernst demonstrate their talented
albino tiger riding a unicycle. “A round of applause, please, for
Anastasia. She loves show-business. So much nicer than the savagery of
the jungle, ja?” In a flashback, we see Anastasia sleeping peacefully
in Africa. Behind her two men approach in a jeep. “Hey, tiger!” one of
them calls out, “Wake up!” He shoots a tranquilizer dart into her, and
she slumps over. The memory angers her sufficiently to attack her
owners and tear them to shreds.†[/ul]
And it’s no more prescient than someone stating we can one day expect a lawsuit against the NBC for a choking incident involving a goat rectum.
† Courtesy The Simpsons Archive.
While I somehwhat agree that wild animals should be in the wild, I don’t know about this case. Aren’t the white tigers specifically bred? I doubt a bright white animal would have much luck lurking around the jungle for dinner. More likely he’d have slowly starved to death.
Of course they’re an easy target (and apparently this tiger realized this, too* ), but I just thought The Onion having an entire article about them this week was an amusing coincedence.
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- Yes, yes, I’m going to Hell.
white lions and white tigers have a difficult time in the wild. roy has his cats from cradle to grave. he def. understood that they could attack him at any time. he has had some close calls before. i remember reading that he even bit one of his tigers on the nose, hard enough to bleed, because he saw the tiger’s eyes “turn.”
on stage when the cat gets that “look,” you don’t have to many options except getting the cat off stage. although in this case i’m sure roy would have preferred getting him off stage without his neck in the cat’s teeth.
(emphasis added)
Oooh the irony. When I first heard the story I assumed it was a rival magician’s white tiger.
I heard about that close call before, too, rocking chair, on the E! True Hollywood story.
I don’t get it–why are they easy targets? I’ve always thought of them as really cool. Possibly the coolest German tiger wrangling non-heteros in all of Vegas. <drool> The accents…the tight pants…Ahhh. They rock.
Did any one else not realize they had last names?
Wow, how sad for everyone involved. I hope Roy pulls through, the bit about him being conscious and talking in the ambulance is a good sign, I think. 
Siegfried, what are you doing posting? Get back to the hospital to stay with Roy!
Sorry, couldn’t resist. Seriously, I hope he will be ok.
Semi-related Simpsons Question:
Which episode featured an airport with a “Tiger Identification Chart?”
“The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons”
I’ll send you to St. Louis.
Apparently CNN has the footage of it, but it is the paid subscription of it.
Nuts.
Shirley: the footage from Apu’s wedding? 
Anybody seen it yet?
Brynda, I was wondering how long that was going to take.
On a side note, my user name comes from Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle.
Wagner, huh? Well, I have it that Vegas’ Siegfried comes from a pair of abandoned carny BVDs.
They said on the local news here in Las Vegas tonight that the cast and crew of the Siegfried and Roy show have been told to “look for other career opportunities”…plus they have cancelled all shows “at least” through the end of the year.
it seems siegfried and roy had a pact on not doing the show alone, if one of them couldn’t go on.
i do hope he recovers.
of course i’m wondering what happens to all the animals if roy passes.
Gah! I’ve been out of town this weekend. Any news on his condition today? Will the cat be destroyed?