My heart goes out to your family. Mr. Getz must have been a really interesting and fun person to know. From all appearances, he died doing what he loved. May he rest in peace.

… anecdotally it is because they are sterile and don’t have high testosterone levels. I don’t know if any studies back that up.

Neither do I, Kittenz. If all hybrids were, as a rule, neutered, because they could not be used for breeding, there would be some precedence for this belief (Was this liger, I wonder?). Other wise, why would a hybrid be less aggressive?

By far, the most aggressive animal I can ever recall was – a hybrid. Due to his ignorance of livestock, the father of a friend once bought home from auction an adorable, little mini-mule as a “big surprise” for his daughter. Before it could be subdued by several strong men with ropes, and put in (first) a masonry walled shed (it broke most of the high placed windows out, and kicked down a solid wooden door), and finally, a stout, metal-pipe cattle pen (that it also mangle beyond repair), it managed to injure both him and several of his helpers, and to take down a carport, as well as several backyard fences. The cute, shaggy, 5-year-old, miniature mule turned out to be a fully “intact” stud, and not a gelding (a neutered male equine). I shudder to think what a full-sized mule stud would be capable of.

This is pretty much why it is not really known if male horseXdonkey hybrids are ever fertile. Though, mare mules have been found to be, on extremely rare occasions, since spaying a female equine has been, up to quite recently, cost prohibitive.

My prayers go out to Peter Getz’ family, and the people at the rescue sanctuary. As financial times get more challenging, I fear that the risk of doing good, will get more challenging as well. Keeping any animal in less than adequate facilities may become an “above and beyond …” mission. Sad. Very sad.

Rocky’s keeper, Peter getz, died last night from the injuries he suffered.

I live within a few miles of Safari’s Exotic Sanctuary, the fate of “Rocky” the Liger is uncertain at this point. Safari, has a commendable record of providing large exotic animal rescue and sanctuary.

It is believed feeding deer roadkill may have excited Rocky to attack his keeper…according to Dr. Dan Danner, a local large animal Vet who performs volunteer work at the Sanctuary.

Rescue…the gift of life…

ole bub and the dawgs

A lot of times, these captive big cats and other animals such as chimpanzees and elephants seem very tame and friendly towards people, which can instill a sense of complacency when working with them. What needs to be remembered is that these are wild animals, with strong instincts and often unpredictable behavior. As Kittenz mentioned, even dogs, which have been bred over many generations to be domestic animals, can attack under the right circumstances and this is especially true of wild animals (and yes, even captive bred tigers or lions are wild animals). They should ALWAYS be treated with caution and respect, no matter how cuddly and tame they seem.

This is really a tragic story. I wonder what they will do with the cat. Sad.

I don’t have any personal experience with ligers, but I will say that the worst dog bite I ever had was from a friendly dog. Friendly chow (I know, lots of people think that is an oxymoron, but he was); I had been taking care of him for nearly a decade, but apparently he was having a bad day that day, and in a flash, before either his owner or I could react, he made hamburger of my forearm. I also think of my own cat Halloween, who likes to nibble toes and sometimes gets a little too enthusiastic. Even a baby lion a few weeks old can lay your hand open.

I hope they don’t kill the cat, but if the enclosures are not top-quality, and they can’t afford to upgrade them, they should really consider placing the liger in a more secure facility.

Deb: What are you drawing?
Napoleon Dynamite: A liger.
Deb: What’s a liger?
Napoleon Dynamite: It’s pretty much my favorite animal. It’s like a lion and a tiger mixed… bred for its skills in magic.

if i remember correctly, one of the anecdotes told was Rocky enjoys playing with bowling balls, and apparently has cracked a couple in his jaws before.

What’s important to remember is that any large, powerful animal can hurt or kill a person – even though hurting or killing a person may not have been its intent. I mean think about it. Lots of people can’t even handle a big dog – and a cat pound for pound is much stronger and more agile than a dog of the same size. Even a tame 10-pound housecat can inflict serious injuries to a person. Magnify that 10-pound cat by about seventy and you get some indication of the size of a male liger – and they can get much larger even than that. Catch that otherwise placid big cat on a bad day, and even a slap or snap can easily kill a human. People have been seriously injured or killed by big cats, even when it was obvious that the big cat was just playing. They’re inherently dangerous animals.

I hope that Mr. Getz recovers quickly and without incident. What a terrible thing to have happen to someone who apparently was an experienced, caring animal handler.