Celebrities are known for their weird fascinations and habits. But sometimes these fascinations often lead them towards a path of danger and difficulty. Something like this happened with the boxing legend Mike Tyson and his fascination with having exotic pets such as tigers. Tyson kept them as pets. However, soon he realized his mistake and did the needful.
On a recent episode of his podcast, “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson” he shared his experience of the hardship of keeping exotic pets like tigers. . In reply to a question from the guest comedian Bill Bellamy about owning exotic pets, Tyson revealed the experience of those days. He mentioned that he decided to no longer keep exotic pets because the commitment that is required was too intense for him.
Mike Tyson and his tigers
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Mike Tyson is known for his dominance in the ring. Outside the ring he was a wild child, and it was only fitting that he would buy a wild animal with the enormous wealth he amassed from boxing.
In his prime, Tyson had enough money in the bank to buy anything. He owned three white tigers, and he also revealed that each of them cost him around $50,000 at that time. He bought them from the black market.
However, Iron Mike bought them when they were really small but it did not take too long for them to grow big. Tyson donated two of them to the sanctuary and he kept one with him for over 16 years.
Mike Tyson thinks exotic pets are too tough to handle
On the episode with Bill Bellamy, Tyson revealed why he decided to part ways with his exotic pets.
Talking about the logistics for the upkeep of his tigers, Tyson said, “All my tigers they have their own truck and every time I went somewhere, I have to bring them with me. Yeah 18 wheelers, they have their trucks, they’re the same for the first two years, then they have to be with you everyday.”
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Bill Belamy asked, “How did you break up with them?”
Tyson said, “They got old, their eyes were bad, their hips got too heavy. You know I found out the cheeseburger, I found out they don’t like out him and me. They’ll still kill us, they don’t like you they will kill you though, But um we’re not tasty.”
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However, the tigers turned ferocious. One of them had snatched a person’s hand and Tyson had to pay a hefty fine of about $250,000. After that, he decided to donate two of them to the sanctuary and he kept one with him for over 16 years.
Nevertheless, do you think anyone should keep tigers as domestic pets? Let us know your comments.
