A tiger briefly escaped at the Shrine Circus in Salina, Kan., on Saturday night.
No one was injured, but the tiger did give a woman a fright when the two found themselves face-to-furry-face in the ladies' room.
According to the Salina Journal, Jenna Krehbiel had just finished watching the big cat show when she excused herself to visit the restroom. Around that same time, one of the cats managed to escape and wandered into the restroom ahead of her.
"You don't expect to go in a bathroom door, have it shut behind you and see a tiger walking toward you," Krehbiel said. "I didn't know it was in the bathroom, and I walked in the (open) door, which closed right after I had walked in. I saw the tiger; it was at most two feet in front of me, and I turned around calmly and walked back toward the door. Someone opened the door and said, 'Get out.'"
And get out Krehbiel did. But she was sure to do so calmly, an instinct that she credited to her training as a social worker. "I'm always on alert, and it was easy to walk out. That's how I am trained," she said. "Looking back, it was a scary ordeal. At the time, I was thinking I just needed to get out."
Scary for her, but her 3-year-old daughter remained gloriously in the dark as to the seriousness of the situation. "My daughter wanted to know if it had washed its hands," she said. "That was her only concern."
No one was injured, but the tiger did give a woman a fright when the two found themselves face-to-furry-face in the ladies' room.
According to the Salina Journal, Jenna Krehbiel had just finished watching the big cat show when she excused herself to visit the restroom. Around that same time, one of the cats managed to escape and wandered into the restroom ahead of her.
"You don't expect to go in a bathroom door, have it shut behind you and see a tiger walking toward you," Krehbiel said. "I didn't know it was in the bathroom, and I walked in the (open) door, which closed right after I had walked in. I saw the tiger; it was at most two feet in front of me, and I turned around calmly and walked back toward the door. Someone opened the door and said, 'Get out.'"
And get out Krehbiel did. But she was sure to do so calmly, an instinct that she credited to her training as a social worker. "I'm always on alert, and it was easy to walk out. That's how I am trained," she said. "Looking back, it was a scary ordeal. At the time, I was thinking I just needed to get out."
Scary for her, but her 3-year-old daughter remained gloriously in the dark as to the seriousness of the situation. "My daughter wanted to know if it had washed its hands," she said. "That was her only concern."