Tiger King Torah

Ming of Harlem

Ming

Ming was a tiger that became notable when he was found living in an apartment in Harlem, New York City, United States, in October 2003. Ming, approximately three years old at the time of his capture, lived semi-openly with his owner, Antoine Yates, in a room of his five-bedroom apartment on the fifth floor of a large public housing complex in Harlem. Several other normal and exotic pets were found in Yates' apartment, including an alligator named Al in another bedroom.

Ming spent the rest of his life at Noah's Lost Ark Animal Sanctuary in Berlin Center, Ohio. Ming died from natural causes in February 2019 and was buried at the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York .^[4

Discovery[edit]

Ming's existence became known and reported in the media after Yates went to the Harlem Hospital Center emergency room on September 30, 2003 with bites on the arm and leg.^[6][7] 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 much larger jaw. Later, Yates said he had been bitten while trying to keep Ming away from Shadow, a cat he had recently adopted.^[8][9]

Yates checked out of the hospital on October 3, and the same day, following up on a tip, an officer of New York City Police Department 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.^[7] The NYPD Technical Assistance Response Unit drilled holes through a neighbor's walls and used a camera on a pole to locate Ming. Martin Duffy, another police officer was sent to the roof, from which he abseiled on a rope sling to view through the apartment's windows. Ming roared at Duffy, who then anaesthetized Ming by firing a rifle with a tranquilizer dart prepared by the city's Chief Veterinarian, Dr. Robert Cook.^[10]

After being darted, Ming charged at the window from which Duffy had fired, breaking it, then retreated further into the apartment. Authorities waited several minutes for the sedative to take effect before an animal control team was sent into Yates' apartment. Dr. Cook used a catchpole and gave Ming another sedative injection to ensure he would remain asleep during transport. It took more than six men to carry Ming down via elevator to a waiting truck.^[10] The team also discovered Al, a five-and-a-half-foot alligator that Yates had been raising in one of the other bedrooms.^[8] Yates was later located at a hospital in Philadelphia and placed under guard.^[7]

After Ming was discovered in Yates' apartment in October 2003, questioning of the neighbors determined that the existence of the tiger was widely known for at least three years, but as a sort of urban legend.^[7] 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. By 2003, Yates was feeding Ming 20 pounds (9 kg) of chicken, livers, and bones per day.^[10] In addition, Yates had taken roommates, who were unaware at first of the animals in the home.^[11] 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.

^]