Many of us have childhood memories of when we went to the circus and saw the ringmaster perform dangerous yet thrilling acts with wild animals like tigers, lions, and elephants. This time, the circus ringmaster landed himself in hot water during an act with tigers.
A fun-filled day of entertaining his crowd with acts of courage turned into a nightmare for a circus trainer in Italy’s Lecce province. A harrowing incident took place when the circus trainer was performing an act with two tigers, and one of them went rogue.
A circus trainer at the Marina Orfei Circus in Surbo was performing an act with two tigers when one of them jumped off the pedestal and attacked the trainer. The entire incident sparked a major discussion about keeping animals in captivity and the treatment of circus animals.
In the horrifying viral video, the circus trainer can be seen performing his act while one of the tigers jumped on him and tackled him. The trainer’s leg is bitten by the tiger while he attempted to free himself from the big cat.
The Italian circus trainer has been identified as Ivan Orfei, and the tiger that attacked him approached him from behind and grabbed his leg, then later attempted to bite him on his neck. The audience is left shell-shocked by this video and screams can be heard throughout the circus.
Two men also ran towards the cage where the action was taking place and attempted to free the ringmaster from the clutches of the tiger before the video shut off. The clip was shared on Facebook and Twitter and has been viewed thousands of times.
The post on social media reads, “Ivan, a highly skilled professional trainer, was hit by a tiger during the show and luckily suffered minor injuries and his condition is of no concern.”
The post also added, “Beyond the prejudices, insults, and falsehoods that are read around, ours is a world made of great love for animals, just as Ivan himself demonstrates to the audience in his shows.”
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