Mauled man: I wanted to be one with the tiger

[jsr]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57518362/mauled-man-i-wanted-to-be-one-with-the-tiger/

Mauled man: I wanted to be one with the tiger

(AP) NEW YORK - A man who was mauled by a tiger at the Bronx Zoo is facing arrest after telling investigators he wanted "to be one" with the 400-pound beast, police said Saturday.

David Villalobos also claimed that despite his serious injuries, he was able to pet the tiger before zookeepers came to his rescue, said New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne.

Browne said that based on a complaint from the zoo and his own admissions, the hospitalized Villalobos would be arrested and charged with trespassing.

Police had said earlier that 25-year-old Villalobos admitted to a police officer making a conscious decision to jump from an elevated train into the animal's den, but that his motives were unclear and an arrest uncertain.

[a geek named Bob]

1. ...sigh...

I only hope the tiger doesn't get hurt.

The stupid human got what he deserved.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. According to the article nothing will happen to the tiger.

He's been returned to the exhibit and everything is back to normal.

[a geek named Bob]

4. Can we donate to the kitty-treats fund?

[Nye Bevan]

18. Not "stupid". Mentally ill (nt)

[a geek named Bob]

19. I was worried that a perfectly innocent tiger

would get killed, for the antics of some mental road-kill.

I have little time or sympathy, for those that allow their personal screw-ups to infest the lives of others...

When the would-be tiger-communer is able to leave the hospital, put him back in an institution.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. You would certainly be one with the tiger

if he ate you.

[magical thyme]

5. Well, his foot got his wish anyway.

Better luck to the idiot the next time around...

[Cronkite]

27. For a little while until you are "one" with the cat poop....n/t

[lunatica]

6. I feel bad for the man as I would for everyone who tries or commits suicide

I hope he gets help, not punishment.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. According to this article it wasn't a suicide attempt.

But the guy obviously has some problems that could use some looking into. He will be charged with criminal trespass, but I assume they will do a psych evaluation too.

[kestrel91316]

12. I think he'll fail that psych evaluation........let's hope they can take this

opportunity to get him onto some serious meds. He needs it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. I think it's safe to say this was evidence

of a fairly serious psychological problem. I like tigers too, but I am not about to leap into a cage full of them. (I did get to pet a lion once, but it was a little baby one.)

[distantearlywarning]

8. Well, part of him is now one with the tiger, anyway.

I hope they don't punish the cat for this.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. They won't - read the article.

The tiger is back in his exhibit. Also, he didn't eat the guy's foot. Sounds like he was just playing with him, like a catnip mouse, because he easily could have killed him if he wanted to. He clawed the guy up a bit, but it sounds like most of the injuries resulted from jumping into the enclosure.

[Indpndnt]

28. Agreed. He was with the tiger for 10 minutes, so the tiger was playing with him.

He could've killed the guy in a moment, let alone ten minutes. If the cat intended to eat his 'toy' after playtime, well, ...the guy is lucky we didn't find out. What. An. Idiot.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

30. More likely mentally ill than an idiot.

[Initech]

9. Why did I click on this article immediately thinking Charlie Sheen had something to do with it?

[Whovian]

11. Sounds like the fellow ate the brown acid.

He's lucky to be alive.

[DollarBillHines]

17. Or Bath Salts in reverse mode.

I find it amazing that the cat didn't kill him.

Years ago, my late Father-in-Law had two lions in a huge enclosure on his ranch. They were the friendliest big cats that anyone had ever encountered.

One day, tho, the male whacked FIL in the head and knocked him out, cold.

Then the thing wouldn't let us near him. We had to tranq the cat in order to retrieve FIL. The female (who, it turned out, was in estrus) just walked around and seemed really curious about the whole ordeal.

This tiger had cubs and was surely in a defensive (non-aggressive) mode or she would have torn that guy to pieces.

[Indpndnt]

29. It was a male tiger. They did mention a female in other reports. She wasn't there, tho.

It seems the male was playing with the guy since he had him alone for ten minutes before they got the guy out. Had it been the Mama tiger, I'm sure this would've ended differently.

[cyglet]

14. Mental illness

so marginalized in this country.

[MrScorpio]

15. The Tiger, on the other hand, saw lunch walking in nt

[Teamster Jeff]

16. Cat Williams on Tigers

[stevenleser]

21. I prefer Chris Rock on Tigers

[Teamster Jeff]

24. LOL Very good

[Nye Bevan]

25. Thanks for mocking both the mentally ill and prison rape in one little post (nt)

[sl8]

22. Talk about adding insult to injury

Jump into a tiger's den, get mauled, then get charged with trespassing.

[Victor_c3]

23. Random tiger fact

I was watching a natioanal geographic movie about tigers with my daughter and there are more tigers in captivity in the US than in the wild!

There are about 5,000 tigers in captivity in the US and about 3,500 in the wild.

However, I don't know if there were talking only about Siberian tigers or all tigers in general.

[Aerows]

26. This man needs some serious

mental therapy.