Ming of Harlem
| Species | Panthera tigris |
|---|---|
| Breed | Siberian/Bengal (P. t. altaica/tigris) |
| Sex | male |
| Born | February 2000 (age 17) Racine, Minnesota |
| Known for | residing in an apartment building in Harlem |
| Owner |
|
Ming was a young tiger, approximately three years old at the time of his capture in October 2003. Ming lived in a five-bedroom apartment on the fifth floor of a large public housing complex in Harlem, New York.
Ming's owner, Antoine Yates, had several pets in the apartment, both normal and exotic. At the same time that Yates was keeping Ming in one of the bedrooms, he was raising an alligator named “Al” in another bedroom.
Yates purchased Ming at eight weeks of age from the BEARCAT Hollow Animal Park wildlife sanctuary in Racine, Minnesota. The owners of BEARCAT Hollow were sentenced to prison in 2005 for falsifying records to conceal illegal animal trafficking, following several complaints in 2001 where a tiger on-site had escaped its enclosure and mauled a child and a bear had escaped before being spotted at a neighboring house's porch. Records indicate that BEARCAT Hollow had previously sold a lion cub to Yates, but Yates found another home for the lion, prior to his mauling by Ming.
After Ming was discovered in the apartment, subsequent questioning of the neighbors determined the existence of the tiger was widely known for at least three years. One fact that turned up was that Yates regularly bought large quantities of raw chicken at the local supermarket, and it was a standing joke in the building that he could eat so much chicken every day.
In addition, Yates had taken roommates, unaware at first of the animals in the home. According to the New York Daily News,
A woman who shared a Harlem apartment with a 425-pound tiger said yesterday she was terrified at first- but soon got used to living with the man-eater down the hall. Caroline Domingo told the Daily News she couldn't believe her eyes when she spotted the big cat roaming free in the apartment where she and her husband rented a room from tiger-owner Antoine Yates. [...] But eventually, she said, "We all became family."
Ming's existence became known and reported in the media when Yates went to the Harlem Hospital Center emergency room on September 30, 2003, after being bitten on the arm and leg. According to Yates, he was bitten while trying to keep Ming away from Shadow, a cat he had recently adopted. At the time of treatment, Yates claimed that his pet pit bull had bitten him; however, the medical personnel were suspicious, because the width of the bite marks suggested an animal with a very large jaw.
Yates checked out of the hospital on October 3, and the same day, following up on a tip, a New York City policeman was sent to his home address to investigate. Loud growling noises could be heard through the door of the apartment, causing the officer to avoid entering. Another police officer was sent to the roof, from which he lowered himself on a rope sling to peer in through the apartment’s windows. Ming attempted to attack him, nearly breaking through the window, frightening the officer. An animal control team was then sent into the apartment; they anesthetized the tiger and also discovered the alligator. Yates was later located at a Philadelphia hospital and placed under guard.
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Wikipedia