Siegfried & Roy (lost unreleased footage of white tiger attack during magic show; 2003)
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Roy and his white tiger during a live performance of their magic show in Las Vegas.
Status: Lost
Tags: NSFL
Siegfried & Roy are a German duo of magicians and entertainers, who became known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers. Their magic talent led them to Las Vegas where they did 8 shows a night. Their animals were brought closer to the audience. Many of these animals are kept by Roy himself in which he adores and loves. These were mostly white tigers. But there was one piece of recorded footage that was recorded on October 3, 2003 that terrified the media and its fans.
Story of the Accident
Siegfried and Roy were getting ready for their big night at the Mirage. They heavily rehearsed everything doing things on time. It was 8:00 and people were expecting their normal intro and routine. It was 45 seconds in and the show was going as Siegfried and Roy had planned. But this then turned into trouble. The beautiful white tiger starts to come closer to Roy. It is what a tiger does, it attacks. According to Roy, he felt very dizzy and blurry. So attempting to step forward, he slammed and fell onto the stage floor. Then Roy was in a terrible position where his white tiger Manticore and it didn't respond to any of his actions. An eyewitness says that the tiger then goes right on top of Roy. "The tiger was certainly not in a situation he's never been in before," says one of Animal Planet's big cat expert. "And their brain -- it's all instinctual. This turns to fear." The tiger then grabs Roy's neck and ultimately drags him. The trainer did come and stopped him. Roy was bleeding on the floor. The show was then canceled and then he was rushed by an ambulance to be sent to the ER. Many people who saw this were shocked. It was also shocking news to the people at home.
Aftermath
After the hospital visit, he was alright. He returned home and was reunited with his animals. The two did come back and did one last show and was impressing to watch. The duo's animals were presented in a zoo like sanctuary where visitors can come and visit them. The AZA has recently banned all white animal breeding because of it harm. Due to the disturbing scenery from the footage taken, the Mirage will most likely not to release the footage of the event to the public and it will be most likely keep it that way.