HERDING BIG CATS IS HAZARDOUS.

Tiger trainer Ryan Easley explained at his Show Me Tigers performances in Baraboo that the art of training big cats was in observing what they liked to do and coming up with prompts to put an act together.

No more.  "Ryan Easley, the operator of the Growler Pines Tiger Preserve near Hugo, Oklahoma, was mauled to death on Saturday in what the site portrayed as an 'accident' with a tiger under his care."

Circus cats, like house cats, have similar mannerisms, which is why prompting a tiger with a cracking whip has the same effect as prompting your mouser with a string of yarn.  But when a big cat is playful, the effects can be fatal.

Wildlife biologist and TV host Forrest Galante told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” that the tiger “didn’t want to kill” Easley, calling the mauling a “mistake.”

Galante compared the fatal accident to instances when people play with their house cats and unintentionally provoke them, causing minor scratches.

However, the key difference, Galante noted, is that when a tiger lashes out, “it can be absolutely fatal,” much like the “poorly placed bite” that killed Easley.

Galante emphasized that the tiger “didn’t want to kill” Easley, and that the mauling underscores the “unpredictability that large cats exhibit.”

Galante, who also works with large animals, says “it’s never the animal’s fault” and that he and others who put themselves in proximity to dangerous animals assume the “huge risks involved.”

Easley’s father echoed Galante’s sentiment to reporters, calling the attack a “love bite.”

Professionals who work with exotic animals all understand that no such animal will put up with deliberate abuse.  Even routine and respectful interactions can turn deadly.  R.I.P.