The master illusionists known for their white tigers and Vegas flair had their lives forever changed
What Really Happened in the Siegfried & Roy Tiger Attack?
For decades, Siegfried & Roy were the heart of Las Vegas entertainment, dazzling audiences with their larger-than-life illusions, theatrical flair and iconic white tigers. Their magic and animal act helped define the Vegas experience, and earned them a spot among the city’s most iconic Las Vegas attractions. But on one shocking night, everything changed. The Siegfried & Roy tiger attack brought their legendary show to a sudden halt—and left the world stunned.
What followed was a story of dedication, resilience and love. At its heart was the deep, complicated bond Roy Horn shared with his animals—a relationship built on trust, instinct and years of working side by side on stage.
Reader’s Digest explains how the Siegfried & Roy tiger attack unfolded—and what came next.
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Who were Siegfried & Roy?
Before Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn were the headliners of their long-running Las Vegas act, they were globetrotting performers who spent decades perfecting the magic and illusion show that dazzled audiences everywhere they went.
Born in Germany under Nazi rule, Fischbacher and Horn met in the 1950s while working on a cruise ship. The two hit it off on and offstage, and began performing magic acts in clubs around Europe. As their fame grew, they attracted the attention of a Las Vegas promoter and began working in the United States.
In 1990, the duo, by then performing as Siegfried & Roy, began their residency at the Mirage, Steve Wynn’s opulent new hotel and casino. Their show would run for nearly 14 years, until the night of October 3, 2003.
What happened the night before the Siegfried & Roy tiger attack?
Roy Horn, the dark-haired member of the duo, spent the night before the attack at his lavish 59th birthday party, table-hopping and dancing with 500 friends and entertainers at the Mirage. He raised a glass at midnight to Fischbacher, in celebration of their 44 years together.
“He was in great spirits,” recalled impersonator Frank Merino, a guest at the party. “All of his friends were kidding around with him, and he was making jokes and being very playful.” One of the jokes was about his age and eventual retirement.
“I’ll retire only when I can’t do it anymore,” Horn replied in his thick German accent, referring to the strength it took to swing 30 feet above the audience and handle 600-pound tigers. For someone so fit and lithe, that day seemed a long way off. “It is incredibly dangerous, and we took Roy, this superman, for granted all of these years,” said fellow Vegas magician Lance Burton.
The birthday party was a success, but less than 24 hours later Roy Horn was near death in the trauma unit at University Medical Center in Las Vegas.
How did the Siegfried & Roy tiger attack unfold?
In 30,000 tightly choreographed shows with elephants, lions, tigers, cheetahs and sharp-beaked macaws, Siegfried & Roy had never suffered a serious mishap. Horn was the primary animal trainer of the duo, and had always had a deep bond with his charges.
But on the night of October 3, about 45 minutes into the show, Horn led out Mantacore, a seven-year-old white tiger. The 380-pound cat became distracted and veered off his routine, straying toward the edge of the stage. With no barrier protecting the audience, Horn jumped in between Mantacore and the front row, just a few feet away. The tiger kept coming. Horn gave a command to lie down, but Mantacore refused, gripping his trainer’s right wrist with his paw.
“He lost the chain [around the tiger’s neck] and grabbed for it, but couldn’t get it,” said Tony Cohen, a Miami tourist sitting about ten yards from the stage. With his free hand, Horn tapped Mantacore on the head again and again, the sound reverberating through the theater. “Release!” Horn commanded. “Release!”
Mantacore loosened his grip, but Horn fell backward over the tiger’s leg. In an instant, Mantacore was on top of him, clamping his jaws around Horn’s neck. Fischbacher, standing nearby, ran across the stage shouting, “No, no, no!” But the tiger wouldn’t let go, and Mantacore dragged Horn offstage.
Horrified stagehands sprayed the tiger with a fire extinguisher, trying to get him to release Horn. When that failed, they struck the tiger with the butt of the extinguisher. Mantacore finally retreated to his cage.
What was the aftermath of the attack?
The tiger had torn Horn’s jugular vein, barely missing the carotid artery. “There was a lot of blood,” recalled dancer Mike Davies. “A lot.”
Still conscious, Horn muttered, “Don’t shoot the cat.” A crew member managed to slow the bleeding while cast members formed a prayer circle. A trauma team assembled at Las Vegas’s University Medical Center, and an ambulance was dispatched to the theater.
At the hospital that night, Fischbacher was in shock, recalled his friends Robert and Melinda Macy, who co-wrote Siegfried and Roy: Gift for the Ages with the pair. On the way to the trauma center, paramedics stopped Horn’s massive blood loss, and he was rushed into surgery.
Early the next morning, Horn suffered a stroke and returned to surgery, where surgeons performed a decompressive craniectomy, removing about a quarter of his skull to relieve pressure on the brain. He suffered partial paralysis on his left side, and his windpipe was crushed. He was placed on a ventilator and was unable to swallow or speak.
News spread quickly through the all-night Vegas community, and vigils popped up at the hospital and at the Mirage. Before the news hit the papers, producer Kenneth Feld canceled the 13-year-old show, telling more than 200 cast members to look for other work. Few performers were more admired than Siegfried & Roy, but the most popular act in Vegas history was apparently over.
Why did the tiger attack?
Fischbacher later said that Horn had fallen ill from blood pressure medication, and Mantacore sensed something was wrong—he was only trying to protect him. But experts give little weight to that theory. They say Mantacore was more likely delivering a killing bite, just as a tiger in the wild might bring down an antelope.
“They’re predators, so who can really know what goes on in their minds?” says Kay Rosaire, who runs the Big Cat Encounter near Sarasota, Florida. “Even though they’re raised in captivity and they love us, sometimes their natural instincts just take over.”
Montacore’s trainer, Chris Lawrence, told the Hollywood Reporter that the animal deliberately attacked Horn. According to Lawrence, Mantacore missed his mark and Horn redirected him in a way he wasn’t used to—which prompted the tiger to attack. Lawrence believes the pair never admitted the full truth because they didn’t want to damage the image they’d built around their bond with the tigers.
What was Horn’s recovery from the tiger attack like?
“It is all but miraculous that he is alive,” his neurosurgeon, Dr. Derek Duke, said in a press conference at the time.
Days after the attack, Horn responded to Steve Wynn, squeezing his hand once for “yes” and twice for “no,” and confirming he could handle the ordeal. He also signaled that he wanted to see his dog, Piaf, who was soon brought to the hospital for a visit.
By late October, Horn was strong enough to be airlifted to UCLA Medical Center, where he continued his recovery. All the while, Fischbacher stayed by his side. The first time he placed a pen in Horn’s palm, Fischbacher recalled his partner wrote, “Siegfried, it is nice to hold your hand.”
According to their longtime manager Bernie Yuman, Horn was taken off the ventilator in mid-November 2003. His cognitive skills were “intact, perfect,” Yuman said on CBS’s The Early Show. Horn was soon writing note after note—giving orders, making requests and even asking for a Madonna CD.
By late January 2004, his tracheal tube had been removed, allowing him to speak and ask for two favorite foods: pistachio ice cream and Wiener schnitzel. In the years that followed, Horn recovered mentally but continued to have difficulties physically.
What were the legal issues around the Siegfried & Roy tiger attack?
In the months that followed the attack, the duo’s team remained largely silent, as did show producer Kenneth Feld, owner of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Animal rights groups called for the retirement of performing tigers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also opened an investigation into a possible Animal Welfare Act violation but found no violations.
In keeping with Horn’s love of his animals, Mantacore was not euthanized.
Siegfried & Roy’s final performance
The duo returned to the stage one final time in 2009. After the show ended so abruptly in 2003, they wanted to close their career on a high note. Though they couldn’t move and perform as they once did, they still put on a memorable show—bringing Mantacore out for one final trick on stage.
What was Siegfried & Roy’s legacy?
Roy Horn lived for nearly 17 years after the attack, dying in 2020 at age 75 from complications related to COVID-19. Siegfried Fischbacher died in 2021 from pancreatic cancer, eight months after his longtime partner. He was 81.
Siegfried & Roy were known for their generosity, and were vocal supporters of the local police canine corps and the USO. They also loved their adopted home. As they often told interviewers, they were amazed that two sons of abusive, alcoholic fathers—both soldiers in Hitler’s army—had been able to achieve their dreams in Las Vegas.
Their friend Robin Leach (of Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous fame), said the two “are so closely intertwined they’re like brothers. Without one, there isn’t the other. They have an extraordinary relationship—the real meaning of the word love—that most people would want, particularly married couples.” Or as Fischbacher once said, “It has always been about together.”
Fischbacher said after the accident that he would never take another partner. There’s no need, he added: “Roy is bigger than life. He always explained to me, ‘Life is full of miracles.’ ”
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Sources:
- Kay Rosaire, owner of the Big Cat Encounter near Sarasota, Florida
- Siegfried and Roy’s Gift for the Ages by Robert and Melinda Macy
- The Early Show: “Roy Home For The Holidays?”
- Newsweek: “Why Mantacore the Tiger Attacked Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy”
- Guardian: “The tragedy of Vegas magicians Siegfried and Roy”
- People: “Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy Says He Wasn’t Attacked by Tiger”
- News 3 Las Vegas: “20 years since Siegfried and Roy tiger attack”
- Vanity Fair: “Roy Horn, of Siegfried & Roy, Dies From Coronavirus at Age 75”
- Mirror UK: “Siegfried and Roy’s dangerous obsession with tigers as member of magic duo dies”
- Hollywood Reporter: “The Tiger and the Tragic Trick: Siegfried & Roy’s Animal Handler Breaks Silence on Mauling, Alleges Cover-Up”
- NBC News: “Vegas illusionists stage comeback for charity”
- NBC News: “Siegfried Fischbacher of famed magic act Siegfried & Roy dies of pancreatic cancer at 81”
Originally Published in Reader's Digest
