Surgeons reattach boy's arm bitten off by tiger

HOUSTON (AP) -- A man's pet Bengal tiger tore off part of his 3-year-old nephew's right arm after the little boy reached into the animal's cage. <br><br>Surgeons today reattached the arm but

Thursday, March 16th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HOUSTON (AP) -- A man's pet Bengal tiger tore off part of his 3-year-old nephew's right arm after the little boy reached into the animal's cage.

Surgeons today reattached the arm but weren't sure how much use the boy would have of the limb. Jayton Tidwell, whose arm was ripped off between the shoulder and elbow, underwent 11 hours of surgery at Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Lisa Lagrone said.

Jayton, who went into the operating room just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, was listed in serious but stable condition. "As fair as I could see, the limb did come in good shape last night," said Dr. Richard Bradley, the attending physician. "And we're very glad for that," he said on CBS's "The Early Show."

However, he added, doctors are not sure how much use Jayton will have of the arm. The boy was alert when he arrived at the hospital from the Houston suburb of Channelview, where the caged animal attacked the boy in the back yard of his uncle, Larry Tidwell.

The Bengal tiger, which neighbor Tracy Olivas called "a really nice and passive animal," attacked when the boy stuck his arm through a gap in the animal's chain-link cage, authorities said.

While Olivas' husband and Tidwell's wife coaxed the animal to one side of the cage, Tidwell's son retrieved the boy's arm. They packed the severed limb in ice; an emergency medical team took it to the hospital with the boy.

An attending physician said Jayton was conscious when he arrived. "He was crying a little bit," Dr. Richard Bradley said. "He was able to follow simple instructions. We had our child-life specialist in reading a book to him, actually.

"I didn't want to stress him out any more than he was, so I didn't ask him if he knew what happened."

The tiger was left in the cage overnight Wednesday. No charges were expected, as authorities believed the attack was an accident. But animal control officers planned to go to Tidwell's home todayt o investigate.

It is legal to keep a wild animal in an unincorporated area of Harris County where the uncle lives. Tidwell did not return telephone calls today from The Associated Press.

Olivas said the tiger, named Cheyenne, is 4 years old and weighs about 400 pounds. Olivas added that her 17-year-old daughter frequently pets the declawed tiger.

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On the Net: Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital:http://www.mhhs.org/locations/mher/mher.html