Lonely White Tiger

by Jerry Wilson

My curiosity got the better of me and I sauntered over to the White Tiger display at the Mirage.

I took a few pictures before discovering I actually had a tiger on my 'binary film.' It was laying on its side. It wasn't a pure white one - these are extremely rare - but a combination of white with black striping. Like a zebra, almost.

The usual crowds were there. The usual videotapes of Siegfried and Roy played on overhead monitors advertising the "Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy," detailing the almost mythical heritage of the beasts.

Siegfried and Roy spoke of their conservation efforts and how they'd singlehandedly prevented the extinction of these rare animals. How wonderful they were, the special bonds they had. The important role the tigers played in the most astounding magic ever seen anywhere, let alone Vegas, where magic was invented. The tigers always seemed closer than they perhaps were. Unsettling...

No speculative conversations were overheard, from the usual happy-go-lucky tourist crowd. Everything appeared the way it had always been; no special signs indicated anything amiss. Siegfried and Roy still live! But where?

Looking at the tiger licking his huge arm, I was suddenly surprised by the reflection of how much it behaved like my little kitty cat at home, constantly grooming itself.

On the way in, I had snapped another photo of the huge Siegfried and Roy billboard that overlooked the strip, and beckoned people into the Mirage. It's at least 5 stories high, maybe 2 or three stories wide. Very large. You could see it from at least a mile away.

In earlier days, if feeble memory serves, more than a few of these creatures padded around the display, some actually noticing, and roaring at, the delighted crowds. The most memorable feature: Those big, beautiful, blue eyes. I wondered how many other animals in nature - with the exception of smaller exotic felines - and human felines - had blue eyes like that. They had huge mouths, very apparent when they roared. No more doubt how easily they could carry a man off stage in their mouth. If we are only a stage away from the animal, animals are already there and can do at least as much damage if they want to. The lone white tiger slowly got up, then disappeared - vanished is more like it - through the habitat's swinging door. What the heck is on the other side? It was then I realized I probably would never see these animals here again.

(C) 2004 Vegas Buzz - Vegas News Service

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"The Night the Magic Died"

"Who's Replacing Siegfried & Roy at the Mirage?"