The Magical Inhabitants of Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden
Known throughout the world as Magicians of the Century, Siegfried and Roy have worked miracles partnering with Mother Nature to bring back from the brink of extinction the Royal White Tiger and the Magical White Lion.
Today Las Vegas visitors get an up-close and personal look at these masterpieces of nature when visiting Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage.
Looking at these beautiful animals on and off stage, one forgets that they are indeed wild animals. Even Roy has had to be reminded of that fact in his years of loving and working with these magnificent creatures.
Though Roy has sustained a litany of injuries performing illusions that amaze even Hollywood stuntmen, he says he’s never been injured in more than 30 years of personal contact with some of the world’s most dangerous animals.
“A good warrior loves to show his battle scars,” Roy says of his relationship with his White Lions and White Tigers, “but I don’t have any battle scars. They lick me raw.” The unique trust begins at birth, with Roy on hand the day they are born.
“With each new animal you start at the beginning,” explains Roy. “There is no book you can read to learn about an animals’ personality or to earn its trust. You must discover everything yourself. We can always solve our arguments in an understanding way because I respect them and they respect me.”
He does recall an incident when that relationship was tested. Roy was rough housing, as he often does, with his Siberian tiger, Sahra. “After rolling around in the grass together, she suddenly laid on top of me and, for reasons known only to her, pinned me down. Our eyes met and I realized she was no longer playing…she was about to bite me. “Trusting my instincts, I raised my head and bit her nose as hard as I could. Totally perplexed, she jumped up and pretended it never happened. I immediately made our friendship sound — ff-fuff, ff-fuff. She never attempted to bite me again.
“The personality traits of lions and tigers are very different,” notes Roy. “A lion is tough. A tiger is very versatile, very flexible, also forgiving. When you have a confrontation with him, he is a lot quicker to forgive whatever the situation is than the lion. The lion forgets nothing, and he will make sure you understand that.”
“Even after more than 40 years, I can’t believe the relationship between Roy and the animals,” notes Siegfried. “When a baby is born there is an immediate acceptance of Roy. It truly is amazing.”
