TIPPI HEDREN - HEDREN RELIEVED TIGER ATTACK VICTIM IS OK

HEDREN RELIEVED TIGER ATTACK VICTIM IS OK

LATEST: Veteran actress TIPPI HEDREN has spoken of the horror that washed over her after hearing an employee at the big cats sanctuary she founded had been attacked by a tiger. A four-year-old, 450 pound (204 kilograms) Bengal tiger, called Alexander, pounced on caretaker Chris Orr at the Shambala Preserve in California earlier this month (Dec07). And The Birds star Hedren, whose daughter is Melanie Griffith, is grateful Orr not only survived his injuries but is expected to make a full recovery. She says, "The tiger was lying on his back and he was rolling around. All of a sudden he looked over and he saw one of the caretakers who was bending over, because when you clean you have to bend over. "And that's something these cats can't resist. When you're below the height of a tiger you can very easily become a prey or a toy, neither of which you want to become." Hedren insists Orr's only major injury was a broken jaw - thanks to "a wonderful man" who saved the caretaker from a messy death. She adds, "The injuries (sustained) were a broken jaw, a number of wounds in the neck, and wounds in other places on his body. But the wound to his jaw was the only really severe injury. "(Fortunately), we have a wonderful man who jumped right in and saved Christopher's life."