Partner Roy Horn was attacked by a 600-pound Royal White tiger Friday before a crowd of 1,500 at The Mirage. He was alone onstage with the animal when it latched onto his arm.
Droves of people visit illusionist Roy Horn's makeshift shrine in front of The Mirage hotel-casino every day. So many have visited the "Siegfried & Roy" Web site that it has crashed.
Doctors hope Horn might be able to one day thank them.
Horn can communicate and move his feet and hands, Dr. Derek Duke said at University Medical Center where the "Siegfried & Roy" co-headliner was hospitalized following the mauling by one of the tigers in his show.
Horn, 59, is responding to treatment but remained in critical condition, the hospital said Wednesday. Doctors said Horn lost a large amount of blood in the attack and later had a stroke.
"A contributing factor to his current condition is his extraordinary will and strong physical attributes," Duke said Tuesday. "These are significant elements in his ability to recover."
The entertainer tried to free himself by tapping the tiger on the head with a microphone, but the animal lunged at his neck and then dragged him offstage.
Show workers set off fire extinguishers backstage to distract the tiger, which initially refused to release the performer. Horn underwent emergency surgery late Friday and had more surgery to relieve pressure on the brain.
Fischbacher told the German newspaper Bild that Horn was able to raise his hand in a 'V' for victory sign.
"He's the strongest person in the world. We'll get through this together," Fischbacher told the Bild. "I'm sure he'll recover completely. He's over the worst."
Bernie Yuman, the pair's longtime manager, also expressed optimism that Horn will recover and thanked fans worldwide for their support and concern.
"The outpouring of love and prayer both domestically as well as globally ... is very touching to us," Yuman said Tuesday.
Yuman said that Horn can communicate but would not answer questions about whether Horn can speak. "He understands the circumstances. He is totally aware that he is fighting for his life," Yuman said.
Meanwhile, a representative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the agency is looking into the attack but would not comment on the investigation.
The tiger remains quarantined. CBS-on msn home
This wasn't the article I read this morning, however. These men have a whole reserve for these white tigers - around 200 of them. And white tigers were on the brink of extinction, according to these same news sources. In an interview in 2000, Roy was talking about the tigers birthing process. Anyone who has animals who have babies knows how protective the mother is.
Those tigers allow Roy to be with them during the birth, pick the cubs up at birth, which enables the cubs to associate his smell, sight, etc., at birth. Tigers have been known to kill other male tigers if they get close to newborn cubs. My dog sometimes won't let us get too close to her newborn pups - and she's a dachshund!
The tiger who refused to work with Roy had been in his act for 7 years. My understanding is that he told it a specific directive....and it chose to walk away. He pulled it by the tail, it turned and clamped down on his arm. At that point, he thumped it (I doubt if he tapped a 500 lb tiger) on the nose. The tiger then caught him by the neck and proceeded to drag him from the stage. Backstage personnel used fire extinguishers to get the tiger to release Roy.
Don't know if that's all totally accurate - but my understanding. I read about his treatment of the tigers - was great. Did he make millions? Yeah.........but he treated his employees like good family (tigers).
Why there were no tranquilizers guns handy - nothing said. But consider this, suspect it takes some seconds for a tranquilizer dart to work.....those seconds before taking effect...... that 500 lb tiger could have crushed Roy's neck in a fraction of a second, as he already had his neck in his mouth.
I'd rather see tigers well taken care of in a show than hunted to extinction. Or not hunted, but their food source hunted to extinction - and then the tigers just slowly starve to death.
waiting
