A former Vegas performer and founder of a wildlife sanctuary in Arizona was mauled by a tiger at the sanctuary on April 22.
Jonathan Kraft received multiple injuries, including two broken bones, when he was moving animals during a flash flood warning as heavy rain pummeled the Keepers of the Wild sanctuary in Valentine, officials said in a press release.
Bowie, an 11-year-old declawed Bengal tiger, attacked Kraft.
"The unusually heavy spring thunderstorm that occurred Monday afternoon prompted Jonathan Kraft to instruct animal care staff to 'open' transfer gates for the various animal species to have access to their nighttime den areas. This is the standard policy during extreme weather events. Keepers of the Wild is home to 50 different species/sub-species of exotic and native wildlife. The various habitats occupy over 60 acres of developed land and the big cat species occupy 20 individual areas," the sanctuary stated.
"Jonathan made the decision to shift Bowie’s gates to allow him access to his den box area. During the process, the usually docile behaving Bowie exhibited unusual conduct by suddenly pushing the gates prior to Jonathan being able to secure the safety clips. Animal Care staff rushed to assist Jonathan and remove him from the tiger’s grip. Although Bowie lacks front claws, he took advantage of his strong teeth to hold onto Jonathan," the sanctuary added.
Kraft was rushed to Las Vegas for treatment.
Staffers at the sanctuary said that Kraft's recovery was expected to take several months. Bowie was not injured and staff said the tiger would not be put down.
"We will not euthanize him because of the accident," the sanctuary stated.
In a statement, Kraft said that what happened was his fault.
“There are many photographs showing me having close contact with a variety of animals when they were young or ones that I had raised. Those are from ‘the old days’. Close contact with wild exotic and native species has not been a practice in many years," he said.
"My accident with Bowie was my fault. I was concerned for his welfare and did not stay focused on him. It only takes a fraction of a second for a captive wild animal to revert to their instinctual behavior. These situations occur when there is human error.”
In a previous statement, he had said: "When I feel a little better I will make a public statement regarding what REALLY happened. I am recovering well and appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers. The cat is also doing fine and was not euthanized for obvious reasons: human errors."
He ended up putting the show on hiatus and establishing Keepers of the Wild in 1995.
"I realized no matter how much love I have for my animals, no matter how well I took care of them, this is simply not a life for these beautiful creatures. One day Stephanie Powers, the great television and movie star, started to frequent my shows to watch me interact with my animals. I was performing 3 afternoon shows a day at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. She was performing with Robert Wagner in the evening shows just down the street at the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino," he wrote.
"We got to know each other and spoke about our love of animals and the rescuing I was doing. She made me aware of her involvement with the William Holden Foundation in Africa and the great work that the organization does with regards to preservation and conservation of wildlife. She truly encouraged me to seriously look into becoming a nonprofit organization and perhaps start up a sanctuary of my own. I took her advice and the rest is history. God Bless that day."