Thursday, Oct. 9, 2003 | 11:22 a.m.
The white tiger that critically injured Roy Horn did not attack him -- it was just confused and was trying to protect him, Horn's partner, Siegfried Fischbacher and Bernie Yuman, the duo's longtime manager said Wednesday night.
Fischbacher and Yuman offered that explanation to Larry King during a live national broadcast on CNN's "Larry King Live."
However, a man who was in the audience, while not disputing the pair's interpretation of the tiger's intent, did differ in his description of certain moments from that night.
Fischbacher said the 7-year-old white tiger named Montecore had grabbed Horn on the sleeve about 45 minutes into their 7:30 p.m. performance at the Mirage on Friday. Horn had ordered it to let go, and when it did, Horn tripped and fell, Fischbacher told King.
When the tiger moved toward Horn, "of course, at that moment, I ran toward them," Fischbacher said. "I realize -- I thought, 'Roy's in danger.' I run. Also my animal helper who was on the side and watching careful. And we run and we try to separate (the tiger from Horn). And, I realize that the tiger took -- and the tiger took Roy by the neck and he pulled him backstage."
Fischbacher said Horn did hit the tiger with a microphone, once the tiger was on top of him.
"He tipped him in the nose, which" is something Horn often did as part of his cues to the tiger, Fischbacher said.
"This is nothing," Fischbacher said. "It happens a lot. It's just a little reminder. 'Come on now,' you know?"
Gary De Laurentiis was seated with his wife in Row A, Table 4 -- about 10 to 15 feet from the stage.
The California resident, who was at the show celebrating his 10th wedding anniversary, said he wondered why Fischbacher didn't mention four handlers who jumped onstage as soon as the tiger grabbed Horn's arm.
He also said he didn't see Fischbacher onstage at any time, and that Horn first hit the tiger lightly, but then continued to hit the tiger harder.
"The first one was like a little reminder," De Laurentiis said. "But he hit about five times really hard. The mike was on and it reverberated throughout the whole theater."
Another moment the member of the audience said he hadn't seen or heard mentioned happened right before the tiger grabbed Horn's arm.
Horn let go of the tiger's leash and the tiger "sort of leaned to his right," De Laurentiis said. At that point, Horn "nudged the tiger with his left leg, then he grabbed the leash again, and tugged on it before letting the leash go again," De Laurentiis said.
That's when the tiger grabbed Horn's arm, he said.
At that point Horn either fell or was pulled to the ground.
Fischbacher said that the tiger then grabbed Horn by the neck because it was confused and trying to protect Horn. Tigers move cubs around by the scruff of the neck, Fischbacher and Yuman pointed out.
"I say it was an accident," Fischbacher said. "I think (the tiger) wanted to protect (Roy). He took Roy backstage behind the curtain, and Roy said, 'Don't harm the tiger.' "
Yuman said: "This was not an attack, this was not a mauling, this was (the tiger) taking his friend to safety."
Other audience members previously had said that the tiger had refused to comply with one of Horn's orders and that the cat lunged at Horn and appeared aggressive, especially after Horn smacked the cat on the head with a microphone several times.
Fischbacher said that when people rushed toward the tiger to try to help Horn, that made the animal more confused and more protective of Horn, so he wouldn't let him go. A carpenter sprayed the tiger in the face with fire extinguisher fumes and the carbon dioxide forced the animal to back off.
De Laurentiis said he didn't see the tiger growling or baring his teeth or moving excitedly. He also said he could see the silhouette of the tiger laying down "for about two minutes" before he heard "two or three" fire extinguisher blasts.
He also said that he "could hear Roy moaning" during those minutes. "It was spooky," he said.
Horn suffered a "huge loss of blood," Yuman said. "It was nip-and-tuck, really, for the first few minutes. He was clinging to life by a thread."
Fischbacher and Yuman said they believe Horn knows that the tiger did not mean to hurt him and that's why even in the ambulance, which arrived four minutes after the attack, Horn insisted no harm should come to the cat.
After two surgeries and a stroke, Horn remains in critical condition, University Medical Center Cheryl Persinger said on Wednesday.
Asked if Horn recognized him, Fischbacher said: "Of course, I know (he recognizes me), he squeezed my hand (indicating) yes."
Fischbacher said Horn gave him a thumbs-up signal earlier Wednesday.
Mirage officials say the show has been closed and are assisting the show's 267 workers in finding new jobs.
When King asked Fischbacher about the future of the show, Fischbacher said, "I couldn't do it alone. I am the magician and he is the magic."
The Mirage's Siegfried & Roy marquee remains alight at night.
"There'll be a Siegfried & Roy as long as Roy is alive," Yuman said, but whether Horn is able to perform again is not known.
"I miss the stage," Fischbacher said after King showed film clips of previous interviews with the duo and parts of their performances. "I miss the audience."
Yuman said: "Most of all, we miss Roy."
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