Vicenta Pages grew up around circus animals and had spent most of her life learning how to work with some of the world’s most powerful predators. As a fifth generation circus performer, she had been working with tigers since she was 14.
By the time she was 20, Pages had decided to lead her own show. Her husband, David Donnert, worked alongside her, and together they traveled with their animals, performing for audiences across the country.
On October 25, 2016, the couple appeared at the Pensacola State Fair in Florida. Families and children watched as Pages entered the performance area with Ghandi, a two year old tiger, and began putting the animal through its routine.
Everything appeared to be under control. Then the performance suddenly took a dangerous turn.
Working with tigers always carries a risk, even when an animal has been trained for years. Pages understood that danger and knew that no amount of training could completely remove a tiger’s natural instincts.
During the performance, Pages reportedly attempted to get Ghandi to jump over hurdles without giving him a piece of meat as a reward. When the tiger refused to follow the routine, she used her knee against his side to redirect him.
That was when Ghandi turned on her.
The tiger grabbed Pages and attacked her inside the performance area, leaving spectators terrified as they watched the situation unfold. Her husband immediately rushed to help, repeatedly striking the animal with a whip in an attempt to make it release her.
The response was frantic. Donnert struck Ghandi more than 30 times while shouting at the tiger, desperately trying to protect his wife.
The crowd was now facing two dangers at once. Spectators feared Pages could be seriously mauled, but they also had to worry about their own safety because Donnert had entered the cage to intervene and the door was left unlocked.
Fortunately, the attack ended before Pages suffered life threatening injuries. She managed to walk out of the cage under her own power, although the tiger had caused a serious injury to her leg that eventually required surgery.
The incident quickly attracted the attention of animal welfare authorities. At least three complaints were submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, following the attack.
Despite the complaints, an investigation did not find violations. Officials determined that the force used to control Ghandi was minimal, that the tiger had not been injured, and that the animals involved were properly trained.
Animal rights activists viewed the situation differently. Some argued that the severity of the incident had been downplayed and raised concerns about the treatment of the tigers and the conditions in which they lived.
For Pages, the attack demonstrated the unpredictable nature of working with wild animals. Even after years of experience, a routine performance could change in seconds, leaving her husband with no choice but to rush into the cage and intervene.
Pages survived the encounter and eventually recovered from her injuries, but the incident served as a stark reminder that training can never completely eliminate the instincts of a wild predator.
