Injured tiger-tamer recovering well

“He gets tired quickly, but his head is clear. He has even started talking again,” his father told the Sunday newpaper Bild am Sonntag.

The 28-year-old Christian Walliser was attacked by three tigers on December 8 during a dinner-show in front of 150 guests in the Alte Hagenbecksche hall in Hagenbeck zoo, Hamburg. He suffered life-threatening head injuries and was put in an artificial coma, from which he was briefly revived on Christmas Eve.

Walliser also suffered severe injuries to his chest and hand in the accident, while two audience members were treated for shock on-site.

According to show director Stefan Pagels, other trainers were able to lure the tigers away from Walliser within 30 seconds by following their plan for such emergencies. After the animals were secure, a doctor from the audience stabilised Walliser and stopped the bleeding from his hand as other spectators were evacuated from the zoo’s historic dressage hall.

According to his father, the son has a clear memory of what happened. “In the next few days we are going to talk to him about what to do next,” his father said.

One of the questions to be discussed is what will happen to the twelve tigers the family owns. At the moment his parents are looking after the animals, but it is unclear whether Walliser intends to step back onto the stage with them.