In Memoriam: Mantecore, Siegfried & Roy’s White Tiger

It seems to us you lived your life / like a candle in the wind / never knowing who’s face to eat / when the rain set in.

Siegfried and Roy’s beloved white tiger Mantecore – not to be confused with the indie film genre “Mumblecore” – has reportedly passed away at the age of 17.

The predator is perhaps best known for sending Roy to the trauma unit in 2003, after he bit the performer’s neck during a Las Vegas show, nearly killing him – because, you know, that’s what fucking tigers do.

In a Facebook statement of mourning, Roy (or maybe it was Siegfried? Eh, who knows…) writes: “I remember that when someone passed away my Mother always said, ‘They never really leave us they just go ahead.’ For me, without ‘Mantecore’ the Secret Garden feels empty.”

Mantecore is survived by 11 white tigers, two white lions, no partridges, and no pear trees (mostly cause he ate them, too). 

Photos by Everett Collection