LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. -- A two-day search for a 600-pound Bengal tiger named Bobo that had escaped from a five-acre compound ended Tuesday when a wildlife officer shot and killed the big cat as it lunged toward him.

Bobo, a 6-year-old declawed cat owned by former Tarzan actor Steve Sipek, escaped from his home on C Road in Loxahatchee Monday afternoon.

"This has been a long 26 hours for all of us," Maj. Brett Norton, regional commander for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission said. "We made every attempt to try and capture Bobo."

Norton said an officer saw the tiger along a fence about 5:30 p.m. and radioed for the dart team. As the unidentified officer waited for the team, Bobo turned around and faced him. With his ears down and teeth showing, the cat lunged. Fearing for his life, the officer fired his rifle and shot Bobo.

Sipek was distraught.

"I told them, `Please do not go out there without me,'" said a tearful Sipek, who was smeared with blood after cradling the body of his pet. "They promised."

Sipek said he could have brought Bobo home if he was called. He said he got a call that Bobo was seen in a neighbor's yard. As he approached, he heard five shots, he said.

"They murdered him. They murdered him. They murdered my Bobo," he wailed.

Wildlife officials would not reveal how many times Bobo was shot or the name of the officer. A necropsy will be performed.

The reaction to Bobo's death was swift and passionate from neighbors, big cat experts and animal lovers.

Friends and acquaintances who had known Bobo came from all over the county to comfort Sipek.

Roxanne Feola, who pulled onto the shoulder of Okeechobee Road as Sipek was addressing news crews, threw her arms around his chest and buried her head in his shoulder.

"Bobo was the last cub Steve bought and I raised him from a baby," cried Feola, of Lake Worth, who helped Sipek care for his animals for 10 years. She remembered Bobo drinking from a baby bottle, the "sweetest tiger you ever could imagine."

Cheryl Churchill, a friend of Sipek's, hadn't seen him in more than a year.

"I knew Bobo and he was not an aggressive animal," she said. "I've petted him. I've given him water."

About 40 friends and neighbors gathered at the corner of C Road and Okeechobee Boulevard at 8:30 p.m. for a candlelight vigil. Many in the community have pets such as peacocks, goats and even a camel. They're united in their affection for these animals.

After hugging neighbors and well-wishers waiting for him on the road, Sipek trudged up the dirt drive, pressed open the gate and went to the first fenced area. Princess, a 15-year-old tiger who limps because of an early injury, ambled over to the gate and rubbed her head against the bars.

"Hello, baby, I've got something to tell you. They murdered Bobo," sobbed Sipek, letting himself inside the tiger's cage. Flies and bugs dotted his stained shirt and jeans.

Postal worker Jan Mahoney first noticed Bobo outside the compound around 2:30 p.m. Monday. He was lying behind a mound of freshly cut palm fronds and appeared harmless as he chewed on grass next to Sipek's property.

"I was nervous, but I didn't feel threatened," Mahoney said. "He was close enough to touch."

Throughout the day Tuesday, scouting teams combed the woods looking for Bobo. Officers were stationed at three vantage points: up high, in open spaces and along fence lines. The search involved rotating shifts of 12 to 15 state wildlife officers, four to six sheriff's officials and Sipek. State wildlife's Special Operations Group provided a five-man team, armed with 9mm pistols, 12-gauge shotguns and M-4 rifles. Three other state wildlife investigators were armed with 50-foot-range tranquilizer rifles, wildlife commission Lt. Charles Dennis said.

Officer Jorge Pino, a wildlife agency spokesman, said all options for capturing the animal were considered. The notion that the wildlife officers aren't trained to catch large animals is a common misconception, he said.

"The investigators are certified to do exactly what they did," Pino said. "I'm talking about investigators who have 20-plus years doing just this."

Part of that training means using lethal force only as a last resort, Norton said.

"Our officers were made very clear on the rules of engagement," he said. "They were not to take direct shots unless their lives were in imminent danger."

Officers initially set up to contain Bobo so that he would go back home on his own, said Dennis, lead investigator for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. "He's more than likely trying to get back home," he said at 2 p.m. Tuesday. "We're trying to assist him."

Sipek could be billed for the as-yet undetermined cost of the search if he is found to be negligent, though no decision has been made, said wildlife commission spokesman Willie Puz.

Officers were within seven feet of catching Bobo late Monday afternoon before a news helicopter hovering above scared Bobo away, wildlife officials said.

Sipek holds one of about 10 licenses in the state allowing him to keep exotic animals as pets, said Henry Cabbage, a wildlife commission spokesman in Tallahassee. Sipek has four other large cats on his property. Sipek has an excellent record, with only one violation in 1993 for not renewing his license, which he corrected, Cabbage said. He hasn't had any violations since.

After an investigation about two years ago into an incident in which Bobo pounced on and hurt Sipek's friend, Carol Pistilli, state wildlife officials found no evidence of negligence by Sipek, wildlife officials said. Sipek renewed the license this year.

Some experts warn of more exotic animals meeting the same fate as Bobo.

"There is an epidemic of people keeping big cats as pets and that problem needs to be addressed in a fundamental way," said Wayne Pacelle, chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States. "These animals belong in their native habitats in Asia or Africa and they should not be languishing in cages in people's back yards or basements."

Still, he didn't think the animal should've been killed.

"You would think that the animal could have been tranquilized," Pacelle said. "But the blame really rests with people who somehow think that they can safely keep one of the largest and most lethal predators in the world as a pet."

Judy Berens, who owns Panther Ridge Sanctuary, has 16 large cats, including a tiger, seven cougars, leopards and others. She was saddened by the news of Bobo's shooting. But she said she couldn't blame wildlife officials for what happened.

"I can't criticize the police for this," Berens said. "They don't deal with this on a regular basis."

Staff Writers Diane C. Lade and Sam Tranum and Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

Luis F. Perez can be reached at lfperez@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6641.

http://www.newsday.com/news/ nationworld/nation/ny-ustig0715,0,3455271.story?co ll=ny-nationalnews-headlines

Woman who offered pig to lure tiger faces cruelty charge

By Scott McCabe, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 15, 2004

Someone squealed on the lady who brought the pig.

The Loxahatchee woman who offered her pig as bait to capture Bobo the tiger will be cited for animal cruelty for hauling the 5-month-old porker in her trunk, according to Animal Care and Control Director Diane Sauve.

Linda Meredith drove from her home to C Road and Okeechobee Road with her Yorkshire pig Monday shortly after learning that the 600-pound tiger belonging to a one-time B-movie Tarzan Steve Sipek had escaped his 5-acre compound.

Meredith, wearing a tiger print and a gold lion medallion, pleaded with deputies to take the piglet named Baby by its hind legs or twist its ears to make it squeal and attract the hungry tiger.

Animal Care and Control Director Diane Sauve immediately ordered her staff to check into the incident, she said, even before complaints from animal rights activists poured in.

"I was appalled," Sauve said. "Carrying an animal in a trunk in 90-degree heat, where it's probably 140 degrees inside, is not acceptable."

Even pigs transported for slaughter are required by law to be moved humanely, Suave said.

An investigator told Meredith that she'd get at least a $91 citation, Meredith said. Suave said she'll meet with her counterparts in the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office today to determine the charges.

Meredith said her Cadillac's trunk is air conditioned and that she was going to eat the pig anyway when it got full grown. Meredith's upset that state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials didn't try to use a live animal to lure the exotic animal before shooting it to death Tuesday.

"I can't believe they have the gall," Meredith said. "I was just trying to help the tiger find his way back home. Apparently, it's not nice to be nice."

scott_mccabe@pbpost.com

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State wildlife agency slammed over shooting of pet tiger

By Nancy L. Othón, Shahien Nasiripour and Akilah Johnson
Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 15 2004

LOXAHATCHEE -- State wildlife officials defended themselves against an onslaught of criticism Wednesday for killing Bobo, the nearly 600-pound tiger that made international headlines by escaping from a former Tarzan actor's home.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission again refused to name the officer who shot Bobo Tuesday, because of an ongoing investigation and to protect the officer, officials said.

Since the shooting, which happened a few hundred yards from the 5-acre C Road compound where Steve Sipek lives with five other exotic big cats, local residents have harassed wildlife officers about Bobo's death. The agency has received thousands of irate e-mails and calls from around the globe.

"It's a really bad scene for our agency right now," Maj. Brett Norton said. "If this had gone the other way and my officer was laying there mauled, what would be the take on this now?"

Sipek, who portrayed Tarzan in two movies and keeps his animals in a maze of cages, appeared on three network television morning shows Wednesday, accusing wildlife officers of killing his beloved pet without provocation. He appeared on CNN's Larry King Live and was to appear early today on ABC's late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live.

As well-wishers visited Sipek Wednesday to offer condolences and express their rage and frustration with state wildlife authorities, he fought back tears while offering his account of the killing.

"They murdered him in cold blood," Sipek said. "They killed a poor, defenseless animal. They killed him deliberately."

Sipek said he has been overwhelmed by the public support, getting calls from as far away as England, Germany and Sweden. He plans to bury Bobo on the property, next to the cat's two friends Tony, a tiger, and cougar Misho.

Bobo escaped Monday afternoon through gates opened by someone who knew the cages had hidden locks, Sipek said. He has cared for 102 exotic cats since 1969, and now wants more tigers.

"I'll get 50 more tigers. They think Tarzan is crazy, but he's not," he said. "They've been trying to get rid of my animals for 35 years. I'd like to see them do that now. I'll die with my babies."

But the mission for wildlife officers and a wildlife expert who helped with the search was always to reunite Bobo with Sipek, officials said.

David Hitzig, executive director of the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter, hoped for a happy outcome.

"It made perfect sense that what we needed to do was to get Steve Sipek and the cat together. There was never any dispute or discrepancy over that," he said.

If they saw Bobo, wildlife officers were told to immediately radio for the tranquilizer dart team -- composed of Hitzig and two lieutenants -- and keep the cat in sight without disturbing him, Hitzig said. The plan then called for Sipek to come to the scene, and to tranquilize Bobo only if he couldn't be coaxed home.

Hitzig was on his way to Bobo when he heard gunshots. Immediately, there was radio traffic and a flurry of questions, Hitzig said.

"We were in a dead run at that point, going to where the cat was," Hitzig said. "The cat was still alive when I got to it. I did everything that I could."

Fatally wounded, Bobo was bleeding from his mouth and nose.

Within moments, Hitzig said, the officer was apologizing for shooting Bobo, but repeatedly said he had no choice. Bobo had hissed and lunged at the officer, who shot it with an M-4 rifle.

Norton said five bullet casings were found but officials don't yet know how many times Bobo was shot. The cat will be taken today to the University of Florida so the head of pathology can perform a necropsy. Norton said the agency decided to have it done there to get an unbiased opinion.

Bobo was shot in the shoulder area, but the necropsy will provide forensic evidence showing how many times Bobo was shot, the bullets' trajectory and an exact cause of death.

Not all wildlife officers have tranquilizer guns because the narcotic in darts is strictly regulated and each officer would have to receive additional training to carry a dart gun, Norton said.

But even if the officer had a tranquilizer gun, Hitzig said, Bobo would have been able to attack the officer because a tranquilizer can take one to six minutes to take effect. If Bobo was lunging at the officer, the dart would not have stopped his actions, Hitzig said.

Sipek rushed to the scene after the shooting. Because the officers were moving west and Bobo was found facing in that direction as well, Sipek think the cat posed no threat.

"He never had a chance to escape," he said.

Wildlife officials said they had sent someone to get Sipek at home and a lieutenant tried to call Sipek but couldn't find his phone number on his cell phone. Norton said he authorized lethal force only if an officer's life was threatened.

Wildlife commission Lt. Patrick Reynolds was part of the dart team sprinting toward Bobo. He said having an officer with more experience dealing with large, caged animals as first responder might have changed the ending.

Bobo showing his teeth and hissing might have been nothing more than a bluff, said Reynolds, an investigator with 25 years of experience.

"I would tend to think all that a bluff," he said.

Still, Reynolds said he was not second-guessing the officer's actions.

Two investigations, one to determine how Bobo escaped Sipek's compound and another into the shooting, will be conducted. Sipek could face criminal charges and be billed for the search if the investigation concludes he was negligent.

At least two animal advocacy groups on Wednesday called for the state's wildlife commission to revoke Sipek's exotic animal license.

The Captive Wild Animal Protection Coalition, a group representing 20 zoos, sanctuaries and animal organizations, said Sipek should conform to current laws. Sipek holds one of a handful of licenses in Florida allowing him to own exotic animals as pets.

"He's putting the community at risk," said Kim Haddad, a veterinarian and coalition manager. "And he's putting the tiger at risk."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to the wildlife commission, listing two other incidents involving Sipek's cats: Bobo's attack on a friend of Sipek's two years ago that left permanent injuries and a 1985 escape of a three-legged black panther that returned a day later.

"Given Sipek's history and this most recent occurrence, revocation of his license is justified, and Sipek's remaining big cats should be confiscated and transferred to an accredited sanctuary," wrote Lisa Wathne, an exotic animal specialist with PETA.

Staff Writer Luis F. Perez contributed to this report.

Nancy L. Othón can be reached at

nothon@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6633.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorid a/

sfl-pbobo15jul15,0,6121707.story?coll=s fla-home-headlines

Tiger Loose in FL

Cat owner devoted to his animals, friends, peers say

By Rachel Sauer, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Say what you want about Steve Sipek, but the man loves those cats. That's the one thing people who know him agree on.

So when Bobo, a 6-year-old, 600-pound Bengal-Siberian mix tiger escaped from his Loxahatchee compound Monday night and was killed Tuesday, Sipek was devastated.

"Bobo's his baby," said Roxanne Feola, who has worked with Sipek's cats for 10 years. "I think he stayed out there all night looking for him."

Sipek, who is 62 and has a 38-year-old son, has raised big cats for more than 30 years. He came to his love of cats through a love of Tarzan, who he portrayed in two Spanish-language movies. In a 2000 New Times story, he said he grew up in Croatia watching Johnny Weissmuller play Tarzan and was mesmerized. At 17, he fled Croatia through the mountains, bouncing from Austria to France to Canada and landing in Miami in 1959.

Lion saved him in 1972

Sipek told the newspaper he sent a photo of himself to a movie producer, who arranged an audition. In 1970, he starred under the name Steven Hawkes in Tarzán en la Gruta del Oro (Tarzan in the Grotto of Gold) and in Tarzán y el Arco Iris (Tarzan and the Rainbow) in 1972. He also co-wrote and starred in 1972's Blood Freak.

However, he told New Times, it was an incident that occurred while filming Tarzán y el Arco Iris that turned him on to big cats. He said a fire lit for dramatic effect got out of control, burning 90 percent of his body. The crew ran, he said, but a lion on the set dragged him to safety.

Shortly thereafter, Sipek moved to South Florida . He has lived on 5 acres on C Road in Loxahatchee for more than 10 years.

He supports himself doing granite and fencing work.

A constant concern, he told New Times, is money -- not so much for himself, but to support his cats.

"He just loves those cats," said next-door neighbor Hertha Horner, in whose driveway Bobo was discovered lounging Monday afternoon. "He's an eccentric, he's different, but he loves the cats."

"That's something you never question about him," said Barbara Harrod, who co-owns Vanishing Species Wildlife Sanctuary in Pembroke Pines .

Compound called confusing

What some do question, however, is the way in which Sipek and the cats live. Mark McCarthy, owner of McCarthy's Wildlife Sanctuary in The Acreage, said he doesn't feel comfortable at Sipek's compound because "I can't tell if I'm in a cage or out of a cage."

"I personally think he takes good care of his animals," McCarthy said. "However, his place is, how should I put this, it's kind of like Sanford and Son with cats. It really needs to be brought up to code. You go to his place and it's very confusing."

Carole Lewis, director of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa and president of the Association of Sanctuaries, said Sipek and other big cat owners like him concern her because for $150 they can get a state permit to have big cats, regardless of whether they know how to care for them.

Sipek's friends contend he does. Feola said his bond with his animals is obvious, as evidenced by the fact that he mingles freely with them and sleeps in a room that the cats can wander into whenever they want.

"The other day Steve was showing us out on the street where he'd fallen asleep next to Bobo on the floor and that big ol' 700-pound cat will still suck on his thumb like a baby," said neighbor Doug Cuthbert, whose son Josh loves the big cats. "He was talking about the cat started having a nightmare... and he popped ol' Steven's side and bit him a little. He had a couple marks on his side. But I guess that's your choice if you want to live with a freakin' animal."

Sipek knows they're animals, Feola said, and knows they can be dangerous. But he loves them just the same.

rachel_sauer@pbpost.com

One-time Tarzan actor mourns after wildlife officer kills tiger

By Luis F. Perez, Shahien Nasiripour and Akilah K. Johnson

Sun-Sentinel

Posted July 14 2004

Loxahatchee -- A two-day search for a 600-pound Bengal tiger named Bobo that had escaped from a five-acre compound ended Tuesday when a wildlife officer shot and killed the big cat as it lunged toward him.

Bobo, a 6-year-old declawed cat owned by former Tarzan actor Steve Sipek, escaped from his home on C Road in Loxahatchee Monday afternoon.

"This has been a long 26 hours for all of us," Maj. Brett Norton, regional commander for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission said. "We made every attempt to try and capture Bobo."

Norton said an officer saw the tiger along a fence about 5:30 p.m. and radioed for the dart team. As the unidentified officer waited for the team, Bobo turned around and faced him. With his ears down and teeth showing, the cat lunged. Fearing for his life, the officer fired his rifle and shot Bobo.

Sipek was distraught.

"I told them, `Please do not go out there without me,'" said a tearful Sipek, who was smeared with blood after cradling the body of his pet. "They promised."

Sipek said he could have brought Bobo home if he was called. He said he got a call that Bobo was seen in a neighbor's yard. As he approached, he heard five shots, he said.

"They murdered him. They murdered him. They murdered my Bobo," he wailed.

Wildlife officials would not reveal how many times Bobo was shot or the name of the officer. A necropsy will be performed.

The reaction to Bobo's death was swift and passionate from neighbors, big cat experts and animal lovers.

Friends and acquaintances who had known Bobo came from all over the county to comfort Sipek.

Roxanne Feola, who pulled onto the shoulder of Okeechobee Road as Sipek was addressing news crews, threw her arms around his chest and buried her head in his shoulder.

"Bobo was the last cub Steve bought and I raised him from a baby," cried Feola, of Lake Worth , who helped Sipek care for his animals for 10 years. She remembered Bobo drinking from a baby bottle, the "sweetest tiger you ever could imagine."

Cheryl Churchill, a friend of Sipek's, hadn't seen him in more than a year.

"I knew Bobo and he was not an aggressive animal," she said. "I've petted him. I've given him water."

About 40 friends and neighbors gathered at the corner of C Road and Okeechobee Boulevard at 8:30 p.m. for a candlelight vigil. Many in the community have pets such as peacocks, goats and even a camel. They're united in their affection for these animals.

After hugging neighbors and well-wishers waiting for him on the road, Sipek trudged up the dirt drive, pressed open the gate and went to the first fenced area. Princess, a 15-year-old tiger who limps because of an early injury, ambled over to the gate and rubbed her head against the bars.

"Hello, baby, I've got something to tell you. They murdered Bobo," sobbed Sipek, letting himself inside the tiger's cage. Flies and bugs dotted his stained shirt and jeans.

Postal worker Jan Mahoney first noticed Bobo outside the compound around 2:30 p.m. Monday. He was lying behind a mound of freshly cut palm fronds and appeared harmless as he chewed on grass next to Sipek's property.

"I was nervous, but I didn't feel threatened," Mahoney said. "He was close enough to touch."

Throughout the day Tuesday, scouting teams combed the woods looking for Bobo. Officers were stationed at three vantage points: up high, in open spaces and along fence lines. The search involved rotating shifts of 12 to 15 state wildlife officers, four to six sheriff's officials and Sipek. State wildlife's Special Operations Group provided a five-man team, armed with 9mm pistols, 12-gauge shotguns and M-4 rifles. Three other state wildlife investigators were armed with 50-foot-range tranquilizer rifles, wildlife commission Lt. Charles Dennis said.

Officer Jorge Pino, a wildlife agency spokesman, said all options for capturing the animal were considered. The notion that the wildlife officers aren't trained to catch large animals is a common misconception, he said.

"The investigators are certified to do exactly what they did," Pino said. "I'm talking about investigators who have 20-plus years doing just this."

Part of that training means using lethal force only as a last resort, Norton said.

"Our officers were made very clear on the rules of engagement," he said. "They were not to take direct shots unless their lives were in imminent danger."

Officers initially set up to contain Bobo so that he would go back home on his own, said Dennis, lead investigator for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. "He's more than likely trying to get back home," he said at 2 p.m. Tuesday. "We're trying to assist him."

Sipek could be billed for the as-yet undetermined cost of the search if he is found to be negligent, though no decision has been made, said wildlife commission spokesman Willie Puz.

Officers were within seven feet of catching Bobo late Monday afternoon before a news helicopter hovering above scared Bobo away, wildlife officials said.

Sipek holds one of about 10 licenses in the state allowing him to keep exotic animals as pets, said Henry Cabbage, a wildlife commission spokesman in Tallahassee . Sipek has four other large cats on his property. Sipek has an excellent record, with only one violation in 1993 for not renewing his license, which he corrected, Cabbage said. He hasn't had any violations since.

After an investigation about two years ago into an incident in which Bobo pounced on and hurt Sipek's friend, Carol Pistilli, state wildlife officials found no evidence of negligence by Sipek, wildlife officials said. Sipek renewed the license this year.

Some experts warn of more exotic animals meeting the same fate as Bobo.

"There is an epidemic of people keeping big cats as pets and that problem needs to be addressed in a fundamental way," said Wayne Pacelle, chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States . "These animals belong in their native habitats in Asia or Africa and they should not be languishing in cages in people's back yards or basements."

Still, he didn't think the animal should've been killed.

"You would think that the animal could have been tranquilized," Pacelle said. "But the blame really rests with people who somehow think that they can safely keep one of the largest and most lethal predators in the world as a pet."

Judy Berens, who owns Panther Ridge Sanctuary, has 16 large cats, including a tiger, seven cougars, leopards and others. She was saddened by the news of Bobo's shooting. But she said she couldn't blame wildlife officials for what happened.

"I can't criticize the police for this," Berens said. "They don't deal with this on a regular basis."

Staff Writers Diane C. Lade and Sam Tranum and Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

Luis F. Perez can be reached at lfperez@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6641. Email story

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