Tarzan actors' tiger escapes

LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. (AP) -- A 600-pound tiger eluded capture for a second day Tuesday after escaping from the compound of its owner, a former actor who once played Tarzan.

Sheriff's deputies and state game officials set up a perimeter around a 5-acre area of dense slash pines and palm trees, and started beating the bush again at daybreak, said Willie Puz, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Wildlife trackers, joined by the cat's owner, Steve Sipek, felt confident they were closing in on the cat, named Bobo, after finding fresh paw prints. They planned to shoot the 6-year-old tiger with tranquilizers but carried shotguns just in case.

Sipek was "very distraught over the whole situation. He feels confident that if he spots the tiger he may be able to talk him into coming to him in a peaceful way," said Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The tiger was spotted several times, including by a woman who said it was in her back yard. Officials hoped Bobo would simply grow hungry and return home in search of food, Puz said.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/07/13/538321.html

No more Bobo


http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/07/13/escaped.tiger/index.html

Ohhhhhh.. that is so sad

A shame they could not have tranquilized it.

This is right by where I live and Hubby knows many of the LE involved..

This morning Hubby was talking to park patrol and they were saying how BoBo was shot.
I said the same thing you all did.

On the funny side Bobo is the last name of a park consessionar who has had some issues with his employees and Park Patrol LE.
Hubby didn't know about BoBo the tiger...

SO this morning park patrol is saying "oh did you hear, they had to shoot BoBo"
Of course hubby is thinking of this person he knows..
So he is like what? Totally shocked.. And even while they are talking for a few more minutes he still thinks its a person..
IE: "yeah he just came at the officer .. he had no choice"
SO finally hubby and LE realize they are each talking about a different BoBo.

Woman Faces Charges in Pig-As-Bait Case

Thu Jul 15, 4:43 AM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!



WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A woman who offered to use her 5-month-old pig as bait to lure a tiger that escaped from the home of an actor who once played Tarzan will be cited for animal cruelty, officials said.

Linda Meredith, of Loxahatchee, put the pig in the trunk of her car and drove to the neighborhood where officials were searching for the tiger shortly after she heard of its escape.

Meredith asked officers to grab the hind legs of the pig, named Baby, or twist its ears so it would squeal and attract the tiger. The officers declined her offer.

Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control Director Dianne Sauve said Meredith will be cited for transporting the pig in her trunk.

"I was appalled," Sauve said. "Carrying an animal in a trunk in 90-degree heat, where it's probably 140 degrees inside, is not acceptable."

Suave said she planned to meet with county sheriff's officials Thursday to determine specific charges.

Meredith said the trunk of her Cadillac is air conditioned, and she was planning to eat the pig when it is full grown.

"I can't believe they have the gall," she said. "I was just trying to help the tiger find his way back home."
Following a 26-hour search, the tiger, which belonged to actor Steve Sipek, was shot and killed Tuesday after lunging at a wildlife officer.

www.yahoo.com

:doh:

Upon Learning more..
You all should now the tiger had attacked and caused permanant injury to someone in the past.
So IMO the officer did what he could when faced with a lunging tiger.
Also not all the LE out there were certified to carry and use the tranquilizer guns.
And even if he had one the tranquilizer could take up to 6 minutes to take effect.. The officer could have easily been harmed in that time frame.