A tigress collapsed in convulsions in a circus ring seconds after jumping through rings of fire in front of horrified families.
The brother and sister who handle the six-year-old big cat called Zena have denied claims of animal cruelty and defended their actions, saying they feared a bloodbath.
Artur Bagdasarov said he and his sister Karina were worried the six other tigers would attack the fallen animal at the circus in Magnitogorsk, Russia.
He dragged the tigress by her tail to move her away from the edge of the ring as buckets of water were emptied on the Siberian big cats, and denied using a stun gun.
Artur and Karina cracked long sticks used as whips to keep the other six performing tigers from coming close.
Amid an online outcry over animal cruelty with the handlers branded “sadists”, he said there was a risk of a giant cat fight leading to carnage in the circus.
Amur or Siberian tigers are the world’s largest big cats native to the far east of Russia.
The famous Russian troupe which travels around the ex-USSR denied they had used a stun gun on the tigress – as some online comments claimed – insisting the animal had suddenly collapsed in convulsions for unknown reasons, and in doing so sparked an emergency.
Karina said: “Artur did his best to bring Zena back to senses and he did all the right things – he touched her reflexive zones, he poured water on her.
“The main thing was to stop other animals from attacking. For them a weak animal is a target, it is an order to kill.
“If we had not stopped them, it would have ended with a bloody fight. And nobody knows who would have been alive after that.”
The video shows how the tigress gradually came round after what may have been an “epileptic fit”.
Artur Bagdasarov said he had no option but to pull her by the tail.
He added: “I had to drag the animal away from the wire fence, she was about to fall between the stage and the wire. I dragged her to a safe place where there were no other tigers around.
“Any other tiger could have attacked her when she was so weak. Karina was controlling six animals so they did not do any harm to the tigress.
“So the tigress was away from spectators and away from other tigers. Why the tail? What else could I drag her by?
“She has claws on her paws. She is not a soft cat. I could not lift the whole tiger.
“When I watched this video, I realised that I am a healthy man, she weighs 200kg.
“I was only shocked that I managed to drag her. What if I had taken her away from the stage?
“She would have recovered there and what would I do next?
“As soon as she recovered she became a normal tiger, with the same claws and teeth.
“If I had dragged her to the cage, other tigers would have run inside the cage too, and she could have been torn to pieces.”
He made clear: “It was an emergency situation for all of us. It was a shock.
“We do not have many people, we have just two behind the wire fence. We usually work with a water cannon.
“It is needed to quickly bring the animal back to senses.”
He was shouting for aides to bring water, and demanded that the music and microphones be turned off.
Artur said: “As soon as it became quiet and water was brought, she woke up. The main thing that everything was done to help her recover.
“We don’t know yet what happened to her”.
Spectators clapped as the tiger stood up and soon walked from the ring. But watchers also said there had been cruel laughter from onlookers.
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“When the tiger was convulsing, spectators laughed,” said Larissa who took her two children to the circus. “When the animal defecated, it became clear it was an attack of an illness.
“Both animal trainers behaved normally, the sister (Karina) was watching the other animals. The brother controlled everything and helped the tigress.
“There was no stun gun. Artur beat his whip at the floor to calm down other animals."
Karina – who with her brother is the third generation of a famous Russian circus dynasty – said: “We did not have a stun gun. We will sue those who claim we did.”
She said: “These things happen to animals. Maybe the blood sugar level dropped.
“Perhaps it was blood pressure attack, maybe hormones. We have already called the vets and blood test was taken."
But the animal appeared to be recovering and is “eating well” ahead of a new performance on Sunday.
The Russian social media carried vitriolic criticism.
One user wrote: “You are sadists! Such a dirty occupation. Shame on you.
“Please ignore any circuses with animals. These ‘trainers’ are sadists. Animals are very rare in circuses abroad.”
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