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More tigers, and a crocodile too...

post #1 of 20
10/5/03 at 6:24am
Thread Starter 
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Police sedated and removed a two-year-old, 400-pound Bengal tiger Saturday evening that was living surreptitiously in an Harlem apartment building -- only to find a 3-foot-long, 280-pound caiman, a crocodile-like creature, in the same apartment.

The 21-story building was evacuated Saturday after the discovery of the tiger. By early evening, the big cat had been sedated with tranquilizer darts, removed from the building, and placed in a big cage.

Police then found the caiman and removed it as well.

Antoine Yates, the apartment's tenant and the owner of the animals, showed up at a hospital Friday night after having been mauled, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

Police then went to his apartment and found the tiger seated by the window in apparent good health, said Larry Wallach, a tiger specialist from Suffolk County.

The tiger is a full-grown male, Kelly said. It is being taken to an animal shelter until a permanent home is found.

Yates will be arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, Kelly said. The case is being investigated.

Residents of the apartment building, the Drew Hamilton Houses, said they had not seen the tiger before, and police said they suspected the man had kept the tiger in his apartment since it was a cub.
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post #2 of 20
10/5/03 at 7:12am
I saw this story, in my morning paper. Gues that he didn't have to worry about rats!

I love tigers but, don't have room for a litter box, that big!
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post #3 of 20
10/5/03 at 8:03am
Only in New York! The part I like is that the other tenants had NO idea there was a tiger in their building!
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post #4 of 20
10/5/03 at 8:43am
How could you not know that there was a tiger living next door? Is it really legal to have tigers as a pet????? That baffles me!
I love tigers, but I dont think I would be able to find a litterbox that big either!
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post #5 of 20
10/5/03 at 9:39am
Different states have different laws, about keeping exotics. In AZ, you cannot keep them, unless you are a zoo, performer or licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Some years back, a family in Douglas got into trouble. They moved here from Michigan, with their pet cougar. It is legal to have cougars as pets in Michigan but, not in AZ. The cat was confiscated and placed in a zoo, where he was unhappy and quit eating. In order to save his life, the family reclaimed him and moved back to Michigan.
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post #6 of 20
10/5/03 at 9:56am
A tiger and a crocodile in the same apartment!! Is this guy nuts? I love tigers, too, but it seems to me that they need some space to move around. I really can't believe nobody in that building didn't know, didn't it make any noise?
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post #7 of 20
10/5/03 at 9:14pm
I sure wish these newspapers would get their facts straight (then again, having been on the receiving end, I know they don't really seem to care about facts.) A full grown spectacled caiman is roughly 6 feet long and weighs roughly 60 lbs. The listed weight of 280 lbs for a 3 foot animal appears to be off by a factor of 10.

Different states have very different laws, but cougars are covered under Federal law in all states. (North American Endangered Species - requires a USDA permit to even possess the animal.)

New York does have a history of "interesting" people. Of course, they also have a history of euthanizing "exotic" animals and then asking if it was appropriate later. While it certainly was not appropriate to have a tiger in an apartment, I hope they'll try to place it in a sanctuary rather than destroy it.

George
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post #8 of 20
10/5/03 at 11:26pm
The NYPD were alerted to the presence of the tiger by an anonymous call, then drilled a hole in the door to see it for themselves. They brought in the head vet of the Bronx Zoo to advise them on what to do. An emergency service police officer rappelled down the side of the building, and shot him twice with a tranquilizer gun, and he was removed not long afterwards. The officer who shot the tiger admitted to being a bit scared when the tiger charged the window he was at. According to the local news reports, the tiger will be moved to an Ohio animal conservancy. No word on what will happen to Al, the caiman. Maybe they'll keep him in Central Park, which has a tropical habitat exhibit, although they already have a few caimans. BTW,no New York newspaper that I saw reported Al as being other than a small, alligator-like creature.

They could have shot the tiger through thru the door of the apartment if they were just interested in euthanizing it.

This was the photo shown in one of the local papers, the NY Daily News. They reported that the tiger slapped the glass out of the window before the tranquilizer finally affected him.The guy must have had one large pooper scooper!

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post #9 of 20
10/6/03 at 5:16am
That police officer is going to be telling that story for years. I have no doubt his grandchildren will hear about it more than once LOL
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post #10 of 20
10/6/03 at 8:50am
Quote:
They could have shot the tiger through thru the door of the apartment if they were just interested in euthanizing it.
Actually, no. Unlike in the movies, police (or animal control) are required to have a clear line of sight with no obstructions to shoot.

Fortunately, both animals have been placed.

George
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post #11 of 20
10/6/03 at 9:10am
He deserved the mauling. Poor animals confined in an apartment!
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post #12 of 20
10/6/03 at 2:33pm
Quote:
Originally posted by CharmsDad
Actually, no. Unlike in the movies, police (or animal control) are required to have a clear line of sight with no obstructions to shoot.

Fortunately, both animals have been placed.

George
I was assuming that they could have made an adequate hole in the door
had they chosen to do so, or even gone through the wall of the adjoining apartment. My brother is a veteran of the NYPD Emergency Services: I wasn't basing my comment on my movie experiences.
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post #13 of 20
10/7/03 at 1:46am
Oh I love tigers and Crocs but in a NY apartment!- That man has serious problems!
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post #14 of 20
10/7/03 at 7:00am
This is probably going to resurrect that old urban legend, about alligators in the NYC sewer system.
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post #15 of 20
10/7/03 at 7:29am
Quote:
This is probably going to resurrect that old urban legend, about alligators in the NYC sewer system.
You're probably right. The reality is an alligator couldn't survive in the sewers, but that never stopped anyone from spreading the stories.

There are a couple of really bad movies ("Alligator" and "Alligator II") about this very thing. I've seen them both on SciFi channel - and they are REALLY bad.

George
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post #16 of 20
10/7/03 at 7:35am
What gets me is , that there are some breeders out there breeding all those exotic animals . I love the big cats too . But I rather see them in their natural invirioment where they belong and not some place by a privat person . They need to get those ilegal breeders to make a stop to all of that .
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post #17 of 20
10/7/03 at 8:17am
Quote:
They need to get those ilegal breeders to make a stop to all of that .
The issue here is that these breeders are not illegal.

While hunting is an issue, the biggest threat to wild tigers now is habitat distruction. These are big, dangerous animals which require a large hunting territory for each individual. Captive breeding may be the only way to ensure preservation of the species (and all the remaining sub-species.) A responsible breeding program and reasonable care standards (including a experience and training standard for caretakers) would be nice, but this would require a joint agreement between all states, and that just won't happen here in the US. The USDA, and the Federal Government in general, simply do not have the authority to establish or enforce such a program. Unfortunately, when efforts are made to improve the programs they usually have a negative impact on the people that are acting responsibly and drive the others underground.

I have been involved in the wording and establishment of the local ordinances here to help ensure both proper care and public safety. It's not impossible to do, but many local areas do not address this issue until after it has already become a problem. Outright bans have been tried in many areas, but these do not hold up to court challenges.

George
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post #18 of 20
10/7/03 at 11:11am
OMG there are not illegal ......

My impression was that only zoos and special programms unter watchfull eyes were legal to breed them . OH my , so I can start breeding them now ??? If I wantedt to ... I wonder how many breed and just sell them to those who make a sport out of hunting them for the fun of hunting and colecting the fur . I sure don't like that idea at all .
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post #19 of 20
10/7/03 at 12:44pm
Quote:
so I can start breeding them now ???
Depends on your local laws, but in much of the US yes, you can.

Quote:
I wonder how many breed and just sell them to those who make a sport out of hunting them for the fun of hunting and colecting the fur
There may be some, but most are people that get them for some sort of misguided status symbol. That's why so many end up looking for homes (and usually with a sense of urgency): the people eventually realize they are way over their head.

Trade in tiger skins is illegal through international treaty, so there shouldn't be much there - though that certainly doesn't eliminate this as an issue.

George
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post #20 of 20
10/7/03 at 1:06pm
Thanks George for all the answer you given me . I still don't like the idea that any body who wants to breed these wonderfull big cats can do so . I agree that breeding needs to be done of the fact of some may extence (cant spell right sorry ) die out . Bless your heart for what you are doing .
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