Worker Mauled at Tippi Hedren's Animal Sanctuary

Worker Mauled at 'Birds' Star's Preserve
Published: 12/4/07, 12:05 AM EDT
By DAISY NGUYEN

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A tiger at an animal sanctuary run by actress Tippi Hedren mauled a caretaker who was cleaning his cage Monday, critically injuring him.

The 40-year-old man was bitten in the neck at Shambala Preserve, an 80-acre wildlife habitat in Acton, in the high desert northeast of Los Angeles. He was flown to a hospital, said Art Marrujo, a county Fire Department dispatch supervisor.

Chris Orr who was cleaning an enclosure when the 450-pound Bengal tiger named Alexander jumped him, said Hedren's publicist, Harlan Boll.

"Chris was bitten in the neck, and he had some scratch marks," publicist Harlan Boll said. "He's in stable condition, and we're waiting to see how he reacts to the antibiotics."

The preserve is home to more than 60 endangered big cats, including lions, leopards and servals, most born in captivity and given up by circuses, zoos and private owners who could no longer care for the animals.

http://www.att.net/s/editorial.dll?bfromind=7814&eeid=5561333&_sitecat=1522&dcatid=0&eetype=article&render=y&ac=3&ck=&ch=ne

Quite a while ago - 1980 or 81. I don't know how long tigers live, so I couldn't say if this hungry old boy was one of that movie's stars.

Hope the guy gets better - it'll be a great story, if he ever feels like talking about it.

...was that the worker who was attacked did NOT want the animal destroyed.

automobile for its running over someone, or wanting to destroy a knife because someone was lacerated.

It would make just as much sense.