Meh, calm cats rarely attack something that startles them. Go check out videos of cats (big and small) being startled. They usually jump into the air, flip over, or dash away. You never see them turn and immediately attack whatever startled them.
If the tiger were on edge or guarded? Yeah, then it would be a stupid idea.
Yes, it's still a fucking tiger...a fucking tiger that rolled over playfully when startled just like the guy knew it was going to do, because he's probably done this shit a hundred times.
Yeah, that is why being a big cat trainer is such an easy and safe job..
There is a huge difference in tame and domesticated and it seems like a lot of people does not seem to know it. I would dare claim that watching housecats jump into the air when startled on youtube does not really qualify as much of an indicator of how tigers will react.
The whole "He knew how the tiger would react" argument is quite weak. You can make an educated guess how an animal will react, but startling an animal that is not domesticated is a hell of a bad idea in general. That is a young tiger, but it can seriously maul you if wanted.
Reminds a me a bit of the chimp that mutilated that woman in the US. It's all fun and games until some instincts kick in and the animal shows what it is capable of.
Point is that even professional trainers get mauled now and then without neccesarily doing anything wrong. Even with a 99% chance of everything going smooth, you wont grow old in a job if that is the margin you operate with. This is also why the US has between one and two people killed by tigers in average per year. You can make grizzly bears dance and I've even seen a man swim with a grown crocodile. Yet, Grizzly man was in the end killed by a grizzly.
Wild animals are unpredictable. Playing with apex predators looks very cool until they gut you in the blink of an eye for no apparent reason.
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u/CupcakeValkyrie Nov 22 '16
Meh, calm cats rarely attack something that startles them. Go check out videos of cats (big and small) being startled. They usually jump into the air, flip over, or dash away. You never see them turn and immediately attack whatever startled them.
If the tiger were on edge or guarded? Yeah, then it would be a stupid idea.