Texas man encounters tiger on the loose, says she ‘started licking me on the face’

[jpak]

Source: Washington Post

Jonathan Gessner said he saw the tiger crouching down. At first, he was scared, Gessner told the Houston Chronicle.But he approached the animal anyway.

“The closer I got, she started shaking her butt, like cat getting in attack mode, you know?” he said. “I thought about turning around, but I was like, ‘nah, I want to see what she does.'”

Sure, sure. Please continue, Jonathan.
)
“She, out of nowhere, took off running towards me, put her paws on my shoulders and started licking me in the face,” Gessner told the newspaper. “I was really scared at first.”

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/04/22/texas-man-encounters-tiger-on-the-loose-says-she-started-licking-me-on-the-face/

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[jmowreader]

1. It's a baby tiger who hasn't figured out humans are food yet

Unfortunately, it will grow into an adult tiger who knows they are. What idiot thinks owning a tiger is a good idea?

[ret5hd]

4. Ones that raise them to be tied to a tree and shot by...

someone that fancies themselves a "big game hunter" and is willing to pay the bucks to prove it.

This little cub is destined for the killing floor.

[LiberalArkie]

5. She just has not figured out the food chain thing yet, but she will.

[LanternWaste]

6. Answer: A rescue farm... from which the tiger escaped?

"What idiot thinks owning a tiger is a good idea?"

A rescue farm... from which the tiger escaped after a transfer due to the local flooding?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

29. This could have ended badly if he'd had jerky on his breath.....

The fact that he was a Texan makes that more likely.

[FailureToCommunicate]

2. Not so wierd. I usually taste my food before ripping into it.

[dembotoz]

14. maybe he needed a bit more of hrc's stash of always carried hot sauce

[saturnsring]

17. bernies bro strikes again -- i wont say they are like cockroaches cause that would be wrong

so ....

[zalinda]

31. Maybe Hillary can just whip out her hot sauce

and eat your monkey. All's fair, after all.

Z

[saturnsring]

33. that sounds dirty.. btw did you notice the post i was replying to

[Schema Thing]

3. Lucky sumbitch.

[Roland99]

9. No kidding!!

[jtuck004]

7. " ‘nah, I want to see what she does.'” < One day someone will put this on a tombstone. n/t

[LanternWaste]

12. I don't think running away would have changed the potential negative outcome.

I don't think running away (top median speed: 21.1 mph) would have changed the potential negative outcome if the tiger (top median speed: 40 mph) chased him (other than giving him a possible 3.3 seconds of additional existence).

Indeed, the tiger's disposition as it stood, may have been impacted towards a wholly different reaction has the man bolted.

[Richard D]

19. I know someone who caretakes a rescued jaguar . .

. . . down in the Amazon. She told me that if a Jaguar is ever stalking you, to run as fast as you can. I said that you can't outrun a Jaguar, and she said no, you can't. But if you run fast chances are that the jaguar will kill you when she catches you. Otherwise she might take you back to her den and play with you for a few days before eating you (think a cat playing with a mouse), without killing you right away, btw.

[That Guy 888]

26. I remember reading about tigers in India prefering to attack from behind.

Indians walking in areas where there are tigers wear a mask with a face on the back of their heads.



from the Boston Globe

[Xithras]

13. He's the reason we have a bajillion warning labels on everything nowadays.

No. Common. Sense.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

15. "WARNING: Tigers can be bad for your health and shorten your lifespan"

[mainer]

8. Future Darwin Award winner

He should try that with a Grizzly.

[Renew Deal]

10. “I thought about turning around, but I was like, ‘nah, I want to see what she does.'”

[McCamy Taylor]

11. Cats who are not hungry will not chase "prey" that is not afraid of them.

I raised severals litters of rats with cats and the cats never treated them as food. But they still caught and ate any wild mouse that got in the house. The difference is that they are bored if you are not afraid, and the domestic rats were not afraid and did not run from the cats. Your biggest risk with a big cat is that they will get friendly and try to "play".

I have also noticed that large animals of all sorts seem nicer to humans of the opposite sex. Mean male dogs that are aggressive towards men usually do not threaten me, but the alpha female across the street was always trying to chase me off until I decided to lay down on my back one day and act like a submissive female. Now she is ok with me.

[red dog 1]

16. That guy is lucky it was a very young tiger & from a rescue farm,

where she was used to interacting with humans.

Incredible story!

K&R, thanks for posting, jpak

[Hassin Bin Sober]

18. A tiger????

In Africa Texas????

[shanti]

20. according to the story

it's perfectly legal to own a tiger in texas.

[mdbl]

43. might as well just abolish any laws that are left in Texas

since everything should be perfectly legal there.

[Aristus]

21. How unusual: A Texan talking tough without being in possession of a gun.

Will wonders never cease?

[callous taoboy]

22. Yes, because all of us Texans are a stereotype, even on a progressive

site like DU.

[KatyMan]

23. Ah wuz jist talkin to m'gun about this very thing...

Texan all my life, don't own a gun, never been on a horse, politically a bit to the right of Marx...kind of tired of this shit too. Perhaps people don't know about Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin? About as right wing as you can get right there.

[callous taoboy]

24. Did you know that Texas hires only fools to teach school?

I read it right here on good old "progressive" D.U. I am also a life-long Texan and I love this state. Only fools broad-brush an entire state or region.

[littlebit]

30. Same here

Born and raised in West Texas never owed or even wanted a gun and horses scare me.

[mdbl]

44. Those states were introduced to some strong kool-aid aboutu 30 years ago

It was callled Ronald Reagan and Mush Limpballs and they haven't stopped drinking it.

[Aristus]

25. Okay, everybody. Unclench. I was born and raised in Texas.

There's a reason I don't live there anymore.

Okay, there are a lot of reasons why I don't live there anymore.

Thank you for being Texan and progressive at the same time. Someday, for the love of God, can we turn the state blue? Please?

[whistler162]

39. He will be asked to turn in his 10 gallon hat for a 7.5 gallon

one.

[northernsouthern]

27. There is a brave and fairly stupid man.

I read it and just cracked up with the looking like she was going to attack so I got closer to see what she would do?!?! This is a guy that the other 90% of the time they would be holding a wake for.

[jonno99]

32. I'm sending you cat gif to my son - he'll get a kick outta that...nt

[northernsouthern]

34. It is one of the best gifs I have seen

I was going to edit it so the end loops to the beginning, but I can't find the source material for it. It is the Meta Cat, so when ever someone talks about metadata or locking a thread because of meta...I see this ca.

[Marrah_G]

40. Runing would have been the bad thing to do

[northernsouthern]

41. Why you gotta hate on me in a cat thread too?

Check my post from 2 hours earlier...

I think you are supposed to talk to them and make yourself big as you keep eye contact and walk away at a normal pace.

I remember that from working in the parks. Plus Washington baby!!!! We have some of the best parks and hikes in the US!!!!! Home of REI!!! We go out backpacking a ton here.

[MillennialDem]

28. It's actually a good thing he didn't turn tail and run - Tiger might have viewed him as prey if so

[northernsouthern]

35. True

I think you are supposed to talk to them and make yourself big as you keep eye contact and walk away at a normal pace.

Edit:I was mostly right! I may have lived. The first thing is to not move or talk if it has not seen you. But it did spot him, so while it does not say moving away is bad while talking, it does say look big and loud.

http://www.wikihow.com/Survive-a-Tiger-Attack

[MillennialDem]

36. Right, make yourself a competitor (other predator) that makes fighting not worth the trouble.

[northernsouthern]

37. I have heard that.

I have also herd we blow their cat minds if we step outside what they expect. They have a bit of the wtf moment and leave. There was a documentary on mountain lions I saw once where they followed a female one that got pregnant. She charged the guy once, but just jumped at him and did not attack him. After she had her kittens and he was watching she approached him. The guy was freaking out a as she got close enough you could hear one of he loudest purrs you had ever heard. She came up and laid down on his lap. The guy was very freaked out (they had a guy with a rifle trained on her the whole time). Her kitten then came up and were too scared of him to get close, just hissed. Tried to find that documentary again, but never did.

[whistler162]

38. I wonder if she was thinking....

"Tastes like chicken.... yum."

[Judi Lynn]

42. Beautiful critter. Glad she chose this man to greet, as it went so well, and he got her secured. n/t

[Sunlei]

45. Can't find any listed/usda approved, Conroe 'Rescue Farm' that has Tiger kittens.