Big cat attacks that made headlines in Las Vegas history
While many people are familiar with the infamous tiger attack that ended Siegfried and Roy’s show at The Mirage, it’s not the only big cat attack over the years that made headlines in Las Vegas.
Here’s a look back at some big cat attacks in Las Vegas that you may have forgotten or never knew about:
Lion lunges at trainer in MGM Grand’s Lion Habitat – 2010
Just eight years after Roy Horn was attacked by a tiger on stage at The Mirage in 2003, a video went viral of a lion that appeared to lunge at a handler at the MGM Grand’s now-closed Lion Habitat.
Casino guests also witnessed a lion bite a trainer two years earlier at the exhibit, though the attack did not garner as much national attention as the later incident.
The habitat closed in 2013 and was replaced with the Hakkasan nightclub and restaurant, and the cats were moved to the Lion Habitat Ranch in Henderson.
Tiger with Safari Wildlife attacks and kills handler — 2001
On March 25, 2001, a Bengal tiger killed its trainer and injured his owner, Joshua Weinstein, while it was being groomed for a photo shoot at a ranch north of Kyle Canyon Road on U.S. Highway 95.
Weinstein was the owner of Mount Charleston-based exotic animal company Safari Wildlife, which trained animals for photos, films and shows.
Metropolitan Police Department Detective Todd Rosenberg, who was at the scene the day of the attack, told the Review-Journal the day after the incident that Jagger jumped on 25-year-old trainer Eric Bloom, grabbed him by his teeth and killed him.
Weinstein attempted to stick his hand down Jagger’s throat and sprayed him with water to get the tiger off Bloom’s neck. But by then, it was too late.
“He was already dead. He was dead in two or three seconds tops,” Rosenberg told the Review-Journal.
Bloom was pronounced dead at the scene. Weinstein went to Summerlin Hospital and Medical Center after suffering knee damage and puncture wounds from trying to pry the cat’s jaws off Bloom.
Jagger was not euthanized by Clark County officials and moved to an animal shelter for exotic animals.
A week later, Safari Wildlife was shut down by the business’ landlord because the property did not have zoning permits required to keep exotic animals, the Review-Journal reported.
Tiger attacks trainer at Keepers of the Wild — 1996
In October 1996, a trainer was attacked by a Siberian tiger at the wildlife sanctuary Keepers of the Wild while trying to remove a feeding tray from the cat’s cage.
The trainer, 65-year-old Charlie Stagnoro, went to University Medical Center for severe cuts to his right foot and leg and minor cuts on his left foot.
After operating the sanctuary located off Decatur Boulevard and Russell Road for several years, Keepers of the Wild moved to Valentine, Arizona, where it continues to rescue tigers, lions and other exotic animals that are surrendered by owners or confiscated by law enforcement, according to the sanctuary’s website.
Woman bitten in backyard by lion — 1993
Dasha Giraldo, a member of the Fercos family known for its illusory shows at the Dunes hotel and Planet Hollywood, was bitten in May 1993 while feeding three caged lions at her Las Vegas home.
Giraldo suffered five gouges in her left calf after the attack just a month after another member of the Fercos family, Tony Fercos, was bitten by a lion during a performance in Seoul, South Korea. He was not seriously injured, the Review-Journal reported.
The Department of Agriculture’s animal control office said the family had passed inspections of the big cats’ living conditions in March that year.
Giraldo’s husband Alberto Giraldo told the Review-Journal she was “home and doing well” the day after the attack.
Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.