# So what exactly happened to Roy Horn? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-exactly-happened-to-roy-horn/210927 "2003-11-02T02:37:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-exactly-happened-to-roy-horn/210927/1 "2003-11-02T02:37:08Z")
OK, I know he was attacked by a tiger, but here’s what I mean: I assume that when he was attacked that there was significant blood loss and tissue damage from the bite. He also had a stroke at some point. Is he still in the hospital because of the nature of the bite, or because of the stroke? At what point was he thought to have suffered the stroke? During the attack or sometime later? I apologize if this has been covered already, but I haven’t been following it, and I haven’t heard this in the news. ---
**Author:** ![Typhoon\_777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Typhoon\_777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typhoon_777)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-exactly-happened-to-roy-horn/210927/2 "2003-11-02T02:51:33Z")
First and foremost, Roy was not attacked. If he were attacked, he would have been dead in a matter of seconds with absolutely no chance of survival. The cat was “toying” in a sense with Roy when Roy lost his balance and fell to the floor. At this point, the cat simply acted on instinct and picked roy up by the neck ( as they do their young) and carried him off stage to protect him. I did see on television ( I can’t remember what I was watching) that he had some brain swelling, so they actually took a piece of his skull off to relieve the swelling, and placed it in his hip to keep it “alive” if you will, until his swelling goes back down. This is the extent of my knowledge at this point. I was fortunate to actually get to see them perform 2 years ago at the Mirage. What an amazing show!!! ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-exactly-happened-to-roy-horn/210927/3 "2003-11-02T04:11:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Typhoon\_777 \* > the cat simply acted on instinct and picked roy up by the neck ( as they do their young) and carried him off stage to protect him. Here’s an item from a [Newsday.com](http://Newsday.com) article: [Siegfried] Fischbacher has suggested that the animal was trying to help Horn, but other animal experts disputed that. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-exactly-happened-to-roy-horn/210927/4 "2003-11-02T04:47:34Z")
The tiger bit him on the arm, and then grabbed him by the neck. [http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/10/07/roy.attacked.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/10/07/roy.attacked.ap/index.html) > [@](#): > > Montecore was told to lie down, but balked and grabbed Horn’s arm in his mouth. Horn struck Montecore with his microphone, trying to get him to loosen his grip. Montecore then grabbed Horn by his throat, dragging him backstage where handlers subdued the tiger by spraying him with a fire extinguisher. He had the stroke after the attack. > **[Breaking Celebrity News, Entertainment News and Celeb Gossip - E! Online](https://www.eonline.com/news?tnews)** > > Get the latest news on celebrity scandals, engagements, and divorces! Check out our breaking stories on Hollywood's hottest stars! > [@](#): > > During Live, Siegfried confirmed to King that Horn had suffered “a minor stroke” and undergone two surgeries after the Oct. 3 performance… He is still in the hospital because of the massive blood loss plus the stroke. He will have a lengthy rehabilitation. Also, the fact that in order to relieve pressure on his skull, they removed part of it and stored it in his abdomen might have something to do with it. > **[Breaking Celebrity News, Entertainment News and Celeb Gossip - E! Online](https://www.eonline.com/news?tnews)** > > Get the latest news on celebrity scandals, engagements, and divorces! Check out our breaking stories on Hollywood's hottest stars! > [@](#): > > While at UMC, Horn underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain; during the procedure, a quarter of his skull was removed and stored in his abdomen. That’s not something you just bounce back from. ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-exactly-happened-to-roy-horn/210927/5 "2003-11-02T05:21:31Z")
I have tried to find out exactly what injuries Roy Horn suffered and have been having quite a bit of trouble. The one site I found that mentioned actual injuries stated that he had two puncture wounds to the upper chest/neck (which certainly indicates that the tiger was being extremely gentle) but unfortunately, one of the puncture wounds went through the vertebral artery, doubtless the cause of both the large blool loss and the stroke. The craniectomy performed to reduce intracranial pressure following the stroke indicates that it was far from “minor.” ---
**Author:** ![Titan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Titan2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Titan2)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-exactly-happened-to-roy-horn/210927/6 "2003-11-02T08:25:02Z")
Go here to get all the RJ articles about the accident.Look for it near the bottom of home page right side. Latest is he’s transferred to UCLA Med center,so the Angelenos can start the curbside vigils.Also UCLA upgraded to him to serious from critical.