# Whadya mean I can't have man eaters for pets? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 5, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746 "2003-10-05T18:52:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/1 "2003-10-05T18:52:41Z")
[WHAT THE FUCK](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031005/ap_on_re_us/tiger_caught) > [@](#): > > NEW YORK - Police and animal control officers removed a nearly 600-pound tiger and a 5-foot alligator from a Manhattan apartment Saturday after callers tipped off officials, animal control officials said. Not only did this guy have these animals, but _in an apartment??_ And not only that, later in the article it says from an _apartment in the Harlem projects??_ ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/2 "2003-10-05T18:53:35Z")
Our African-American friends are entitled to man eating beasts, to you white opressor!😃 ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/3 "2003-10-05T19:03:27Z")
Just saw that B’soda made a similar post earlier [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=215552](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=215552) ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/4 "2003-10-05T20:52:45Z")
Damn. Just, damn. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/5 "2003-10-05T21:00:42Z")
Where did they come from? Where do you buy a freaking bengal tiger? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/6 "2003-10-05T23:37:11Z")
Ya know, if you just saved your money and didn’t spend it on keeping a tiger and alligator you could, maybe, \*_move out of Drew Hamilton housing projects!_ To a place where you don’t feel like you need a tiger and an alligator watch, um, animals. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/7 "2003-10-06T04:20:34Z")
You can buy a tiger from a breeder, zoo, or foundation if you can cough up the dough and meet the requirements. There are both state and federal requirments for the enclosure, care, and feeding. Did I mention the enclosure? Or, go to the docks in Miami and ask around. That is a major importation site for the illegal trade in animals. There is the tiger (or parts therefrom) trade in Asia. The illegal trade is a sick mess. I’d bet that is where it came from. Tigers are powerful, beautiful, and fascinating animals, that I would choose to keep a safe distance from under most circumstances. A _pet_? These stories always end with the tiger dead, at a foundation. The people tend to do as badly, or worse. This one actually has a happy ending. Good thing that ‘kitten’ was only 425 pounds. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/8 "2003-10-06T04:44:57Z")
Never mind where you get it, how the fuck do you feed it? Any missing person reports in the neighborhood? ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/9 "2003-10-06T04:46:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ilsa\_Lund \* > \*\*Where did they come from? Where do you buy a freaking bengal tiger? \*\* Bengal Bargain Outlet. Roy got his last one there. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/10 "2003-10-06T04:52:05Z")
There’s some inflation out of control here. Earlier reports were of a _400_ pound Bengal tiger and a _three_ foot caiman. Not that that mattered much to the neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/11 "2003-10-06T05:00:32Z")
That tiger sounds a bit on the thin side to me. Just guessing based on the big chunks I saw devoured, it should probably eat about 20 pounds of meat a day. That can get a bit pricey. ---
**Author:** ![ratty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ccd318/32.png) [@ratty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratty)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/12 "2003-10-06T05:45:14Z")
**Beagle** is right, you can get almost any exotic animal you want if you have the cash and know where to look. It’s like a toe, really: you want a tiger, I can get you a tiger by this afternoon. There are ways. This whole story reminds me of the lady in New Jersey who was fighting with the state for years over her Bengal tigers. Even _after_ one of them escaped and had to be shot by local authorities. (Does anyone else remember this lady?) As for caimans, I’ve seen them in pet stores. No kidding. Hatchling caimans, about 20 of them, all crammed into a 55-gallon tank. Eating goldfish. I was shocked when I saw it. I even grabbed a clerk and asked them if ownership of such an animal requires licensing in the state. The guy just shrugged. Animals that can in no way be considered pets turn up surprisingly frequently. There used to be a pet store about 20 miles north of where I live that sold barred owl as pets and had a mountain lion caged up in the store. This went on for years before the state shut them down. There used to be a guy on a farm not 3 miles from me that owned an ocelot. I was at a county fair once and saw a lady walking around holding a baby chimpanzee. Its ears were pierced. And this is just the patently illegal stuff, mind you. You can walk into any large pet store tomorrow and buy Nile monitors that will grow to some 7 feet and weigh up to 100 lbs. or Burmese pythons that will grow up to 20 feet and weigh over 200 lbs. as long as you have a credit card that clears. No questions asked. Get on the internet, there are plenty of people who are more than happy to sell you venomous snakes, prairie dogs, monkeys, anything you want. And not all of them are so concerned about whether or not you have the proper permits or the ability to adequately and safely care for this animal. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/13 "2003-10-06T12:11:07Z")
I remember the New Jersey tiger woman. Mostly because when she was questioned by the police, she swore up and down that all her tigers were accounted for and it must have been a stray tiger that wandered into New Jersey by mistake. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/14 "2003-10-06T12:15:24Z")
Bengals are actually creampuffs. Hence, the Cincinatti Bengals… ---
**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:** [October 6, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/15 "2003-10-06T13:24:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > \*\*Bengals are actually creampuffs. Hence, the Cincinatti Bengals… \*\* Yes, Buffalo beat off the Bengals yesterday 22-16, but thats another thread. (I wish Roy was here…) ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-mean-i-cant-have-man-eaters-for-pets/205746/16 "2003-10-07T03:06:35Z")
I just realized something… EUREKA! The Bengals should have named themselves the Siberians. They _picked the wrong tiger._ Hey, new unis worked for the Bucs.