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Mike Tyson Admits to Paying a Woman $250,000 When One of His Pet Tigers Attacked and Injured Her

Incident Date:
01/01/1995
Location:
Las Vegas, NV - USA
Facility Name:
Facility Type:
Exotic Pet (E)
Incident Category:
Escape/Attack resulting in human injury (HI)
Species:
Big Cats
Animal:
Tiger
Animal disposition:
Other

Summary:

Mike Tyson has just revealed that buying his three white Bengal tigers, each reportedly costing him $53,000, was a big mistake.

While discussing the Netflix show Tiger King, Tyson said: “I was foolish. There’s no way you can domesticate these cats 100 per cent. There’s no way that’s going to happen. They’ll kill you by accident… I shouldn’t have had them in my house, believing they were domesticated. I was wrong.”

Tyson once paid a woman $250,000 when one of his tigers attacked her and severely injured her hand on his property.

Tyson originally bought the tigers when he traded his cars in for tiger cubs. His car dealer had sparked the idea, apparently saying that Tyson could trade his cars in for a variety of animals, including horses, cougars, lions, and tigers.

Action take by Born Free USA:

Notes:

Date of incident is approximate- Tyson owned the three tigers from 1990-2000.