Siegfried and Roy are back from that tiger attack|siegfried and roy tiger attack

Siegfried and Roy are back from that tiger attack

It’s hard to believe, but not only are illusionists Siegfried and Roy back on stage again, but the white Bengal tiger that bit into Roy Horn’s neck in 2003 is with them.

Roy, as most of us remember, suffered at least one stroke in the Oct. 3, 2003, mauling. Montecore, the then 7-year-old tiger, bit into Roy, puncturing his neck and causing a massive loss of blood during their act at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas.

Before he passed out, Roy reportedly said, “Don’t shoot the cat.”

Partial paralysis. Roy was rushed to a hospital, where he appeared to be dead. Part of his skull was removed to relieve pressure on his brain. As he began his difficult recovery, even the experts doubted he’d talk, walk or even stand up again.

But Roy began walking with a cane two years ago, and he also learned again how to talk. His right eye is blind and his left side is paralyzed, but he continues to improve.

One week ago, Siegfried Fischbacher, 69, and Roy, 64, appeared in a Vegas fundraiser at the Bellagio Hotel for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. Siegfried and Roy billed it as their last show. Last night, on ABC TV’s “20/20,” the public saw the German-American duo together again in that fundraiser.

With them, sharing the same cage, was Montecore.

Frank Warner

via:http://frankwarner.typepad.com