Montecore, the Roy Horn-mauling white tiger, will remain in his home at the Mirage Hotel, and will not be disciplined for his attack on his trainer. Details at Yahoo.
Playing with large carnivorous cats may be stupid, or a matter of scores of years of training (and I doubt the cats were hungry, as you indicate). I'm not going to argue one way or the other. If Horn is brave or courageous, it is not in the show with the beasts that he shows it, but in his response to being mauled. Courage is not displayed in lack of fear, but in how responds to that fear. The fear here is not a fear of the cats, but a fear of death after being mauled by one. Horn's immediate response was to ask about the cat, to make sure the cat would be treated well. His continued optimism despite his condition also speaks of bravery.
Horn's immediate response was to ask about the cat, to make sure the cat would be treated well.
as much as i disagree with people using and sometimes abusing animals for show or stage purposes, i really do get the sense that the tiger was more than just a 'show cat' to him. he trusted the cat as he would a friend. he knew the tiger didn't mean to hurt him.
Granted, he was (is) concerned for the cat. Bravo. Seriously. I have cats (smaller versions), and I like cats. In fact, I like most animals better then people. Animals don't get snarky, animals don't do drama, etc.
As to holding up in the face of adversity, it wasn't a random attack on the street by a wild tiger, nor some freak accident. It's called an "Occupational Hazzard". I work with paper; paper cuts don't surprise me. Dale Earnhart drove very fast; a serious crash was not a surprise, safety gear failure was. Roy played with tigers; having one injure you should not be a surprise either. He got what was a naturally expected outcome to his course of action, but not "what he deserved", as I've heard said before. I'm really surprised it took as long as it did for it to happen.
Play with fire, get burned. It's inherent in the act. I'm not praising the injuring of another human being, just acknowleging the inevitablilty of it.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2003-10-14 08:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-14 08:34 am (UTC)as much as i disagree with people using and sometimes abusing animals for show or stage purposes, i really do get the sense that the tiger was more than just a 'show cat' to him. he trusted the cat as he would a friend. he knew the tiger didn't mean to hurt him.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-14 10:07 am (UTC)As to holding up in the face of adversity, it wasn't a random attack on the street by a wild tiger, nor some freak accident. It's called an "Occupational Hazzard". I work with paper; paper cuts don't surprise me. Dale Earnhart drove very fast; a serious crash was not a surprise, safety gear failure was. Roy played with tigers; having one injure you should not be a surprise either. He got what was a naturally expected outcome to his course of action, but not "what he deserved", as I've heard said before. I'm really surprised it took as long as it did for it to happen.
Play with fire, get burned. It's inherent in the act. I'm not praising the injuring of another human being, just acknowleging the inevitablilty of it.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-14 10:30 am (UTC)oh, yeah, right...never met *my* cats, have you...