SOURCE: The Associated Press

Monday, July 12, 2004

Officials search for Tarzan's tiger, loose near Loxahatchee

LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. - Nightfall Monday brought a temporary end to the ground search for a 6-year-old tiger that escaped earlier in the day from the home of an actor who played Tarzan, officials said.

Deputy sheriffs and state game officials set up a perimeter around their search area and plan to start beating the bush again at daybreak Tuesday, said Willie Puz, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The search area is about a half mile wide and two and a half miles long.

Searchers planned to use an infared-equipped helicopter during the night, hoping to spot the big cat so it could be stopped with tranquilizer darts, Puz said.

"It could just go back home on its own, and we're hoping for that," Puz said. "It could just lay down and go to sleep."

The tiger was reported missing around 3 p.m. from the home of Steve Sipek, who played Tarzan under the screen name Steve Hawkes in movies made in the late 1960s's, said Paul Miller, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

When the first deputies arrived on the scene, the cat jumped on top of their car, Miller said. Puz said searchers on the ground spotted the cat several times into the evening, but were never close enough to dart it.

People nearby were asked to remain indoors for their safety and the safety of the cat, Puz said earlier.

"There's no such thing as a tame wild animal," he said.

Sipek has another tiger, two lions, a black leopard and a cougar on his property, the Palm Beach Post reported. The cats, mostly castoffs from zoos, are usually kept in a mazelike series of interlocking cages.

The 5-acre property is about 15 miles west of Palm Beach. It is bordered by other similar sized estates and mini-ranches, many with livestock. Lion County Safari and the swampy Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge are a few miles away.

In February 2002, a 750-pound tiger mauled a woman who was helping Sipek during a photo shoot at his compound. She was bit on the head.

At that time, Sipek had taken in 52 animals during 32 years. He lets the animals roam around his home, even as he sleeps. The property is barricaded at the entrance with an imposing iron gate and flanked by tall concrete slabs on the sides.

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press