The widow of a famed Italian big cat tamer killed by one of his own tigers says he died in a second after the animal’s claws severed his jugular vein.
But Loredana Vulcanelli has begged authorities not to put the tiger that killed Ettore Weber two weeks ago to sleep.
She insisted that her husband made a false move with the tiger, Sultan, that cost him his life.
Ettore Weber, 61, one of the world’s most famous tiger tamers, was killed by a single blow from his tiger Sultan on July 4 as he rehearsed for a show
Vulcanelli, who was Weber’s assistant, also dismissed reports that the tigers mauled and played with Weber’s body as he lay dead in the cage.
Weber, 61, was mauled to death on the evening of July 4 at at the Circo Orfei – Italy’s best-known circus – in the countryside near Bari, during their nightly pre-show rehearsal of his act.
Circus owner Marina Monti confirmed that Weber died of a single blow from the big cat’s paw, adding: ‘He died within 2-3 seconds.’
Widow Loredana Vulcanelli (third from right) said she did not blame the tiger, Sultan, that killed her husband Ettore Weber (third from left)
‘I’m in shock,’ Vulcanelli told Quotidiano. ‘It is a heartbreaking pain that I will never forget.’
She said she buried her husband with his cat tamers’ whips, ‘which were as precious to him as diamonds.’
And Vulcanelli said she and Weber was considering retiring after two more years with the circus.
Weber was rehearsing for his act when Sultan lashed out at him, severing the vein in his neck.
Weber’s widow says he died in ‘one second’ after mistakenly stepping too cloise to his tiger Sultan, who slashed his throat with his claws.
‘The first tiger climbed onto the stool, my husband stepped back while I had the second tiger come’ from the tunnel connecting them to their wagon, said Vulcanelli.
‘He took three more steps than usual and turning around he was convinced he was in the middle,’ she said.
‘Instead he was below the tiger. The movement was wrong.’
‘The feline is a predator and was destabilised by that gesture,’ she explained.
‘It was like lightning,’ she said. ‘With a blow from its paw, Ettore collapsed in a second, losing his life with his jugular severed.’
Ettore Weber’s widow Loredana Vulcanelli said he made a ‘false move’ that put him too close to the tiger, Sultan, that killed him on July 4
Vulcanelli is descended from three generations of circus performers.
Her father ran the famous Circus Berlin in the 1970s, where she worked along with her five brothers. It was there that she first met Weber.
She said the couple had ‘an understanding of 40 years,’ instantly communicating any danger ‘with our eyes.’
La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno initially reported that tigers ‘played’ with his body for around 30 minutes in front of stunned medics who were unable to do anything to help.
Weber’s fellow performers also tried to drive the animals away but to no avail, according to Corriere.
But Vulcanelli said those sensational reports were false.
‘He was not mauled,’ she said. ‘No, they went back into the tunnel in fear.’
‘The tiger that struck him, Sultan, remained above my husband, as if watching over him,’ the widow said.
‘It is as if he had made a mistake and he wanted to tell us: “Stay away, I’m reflecting on it”.’
Police were called and have launched an investigation, as well as seizing all eight of Weber’s tigers.
Weber and his wife and assistant Vulcanelli had worked together on the act for 40 years and communicated danger instantly ‘with our eyes’.
Asked if she blamed the big cats for her husband’s death, Vulcanelli relied unequivicably: ‘Absolutely not.’
‘They are not dangerous: if I approach a cliff to take a selfie, it is not the fault of the ravine if I die,’ she insisted.
Vulcanelli stressed that her husband was always careful around the tigers.
He suffered ‘a few small scratches when he was feeding them, but not much.
‘He had one of the greatest tiger masters, Eugenio Weidmann, and he never risked anything.’
‘We raised those tigers with a baby bottle of milk in our caravan. And they will certainly not be put down.’
‘It is man who errs, not the animal, which has only instincts.’
‘It is man who errs, not the animal, which has only instincts,’ said Ettore Weber’s widow Loredana Vulcanelli