Never Trust A Tiger

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People who own tigers feel differently. Yates said, "He's like my brother, my best friend, my only friend really." A professional handler like Fischbacher presumably has a more realistic view of the big cats. Still, he insisted on Good Morning America last week that the tiger Montecore did not really mean to attack Horn, who suffered a stroke after the incident and remains in critical condition. Montecore, insists his owner, thought Horn was in trouble and used a little excessive force in helping out a buddy. Even if that is true--and plenty of animal-behavior experts would dispute it--the fact remains that every tiger is a potential killer. As long as people insist on owning them, both the big cats and those who profess to love them will continue to pay a terrible price. --With reporting by Simon Crittle/New York and David Schwartz/Phoenix