Hand-raised big cats are still genetically wild, and they’ve been conditioned to interact with owners only as a function of being fed by them, she says.
candidate in environmental studies at Queen’s University “There is no scenario in which entering a with a big cat is going to be 100 percent safe, even if it’s been hand-raised,” she says, as the majority of big cats in roadside and backyard zoos around the country have been.īy Siobhan Speiran Ph.D. “These are animals whose brains are literally designed to be ambush predators,” says Imogene Cancellare, a National Geographic Explorer and conservation biologist studying snow leopards. Many big cat owners have shot to fame through Netflix’s hit docuseries Tiger King, and on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram by posting videos of themselves play-wrestling and swimming with their adult tigers and lions, creating a false impression that these encounters are safe. The attack is a stark reminder that big cats are dangerous to people-a reality that’s become muddled through the lens of social media. The incident, which took place at the home of animal dealer Michael Poggi in Davie, Florida, occurred during what was supposed to be a “ full-contact experience” with the leopard, in which Turner would rub its belly and take photos with it. His wife had to press a dangling flap of his scalp back in place. Almost immediately, the leopard attacked, ripping his right ear in half with its teeth and tearing into his head. In late August, Dwight Turner paid $150 to get inside a cage with a black leopard at a house in Florida.
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