What happened to Mike Tyson’s tiger?
Mike Tyson’s former manager, Shelley Finkel, revealed that one of the three Bengal tigers that the boxer owned tried to eat the dog of a neighbor.
Mike Tyson is one of the most controversial boxers inside and outside the ring. One thing he is infamous for is owning exotic endangered animals- three Bengal tigers, to be exact.
According to one of his former representatives, an altercation with a Las Vegas resident cost him the loss of one of his giant cats.
In an interview with The Sun, Tyson’s former manager Shelley Finkel revealed that the former boxer had to get rid of one of his three tigers after an incident in his neighborhood.
Tyson’s tiger tried to get a snack
Finkel recalled that Tyson’s house sits between the properties of a Las Vegas personality and a businessman. The latter had several dogs and one of the tigers of Iron Mike tried to devour the pet.
“Mike decided to walk with one of his Bengal tigers, but just then the tiger saw the neighbor’s dog and tried to climb over the wall to eat the dog. The man who owned the house was looking out the window and was surprised to see a tiger jumping over the wall to try to eat his dog while Mike was trying to pull him down,” he recounted.
“That night he calls me to say, ‘Shelly, the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is here, I can’t keep the animals in captivity. How do you think they found out?’ I replied, ‘How do you think? Your neighbor saw him climbing the wall to eat his dog.”
Related story: Mike Tyson hits Hulu for series on his life
How did Tyson get his tigers?
Tyson said that he obtained two of his three tigers, named Kenya, Storm, and Boris, during his time in prison on rape charges in 1992. The Infobae portal reports that during this period, a friend offered to purchase a tiger through a third party.
“I was in jail, talking to one of my friends who I bought exotic cars from. He told me that a friend of his owed him money. And he said, ‘If you don’t pay me money, I’ll take some of these cars and trade them for some animals.’ I said, ‘What kind of animals?’ He said, ‘Horses and stuff. Mike, they also have some nice tigers and lions. If you had one of those, that would be great,’” he explained. ‘I asked, ‘Why don’t you order me a pair? I’ll be out in a couple of months. So when I got out I came home and I had two cubs.’
Tyson no longer has big cats at home. At the moment the former heavyweight champion has more mainstream pets- a dog named Mars Tyson and lots of pigeons.