Before there was a tiger king, Idaho was home to Ligertown. Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen reflects back on what happened in Lava Hot Springs 25 years ago.
Warning to viewers: This story (video version) does show images of dead lions.
Law officials killed more than one dozen big cats in September 1995. Sheriff Lorin Nielsen says, "We were lucky that we were able to save as much as we could."
In the late hours one Wednesday night, authorities responded to a call in Lava Hot Springs. A big cat attacked the owners at a compound called Ligertown.
Sheriff Nielsen, then the Chief Deputy Nielsen, was second on scene. He says, "When I got there Fieber had been, you could tell that he'd been assaulted, he had a claw mark across his face."
Robert Fieber and Dotti Martin sustained lacerations to the arms, hands and face. EMTs treated both on scene and then took the pair to Pocatello Regional Medical Center.
With the couple treated, authorities from the sheriff's department, SWAT, Idaho Fish and Game and Idaho State Troopers feared for the safety of the community; as lions, tigers and ligers escaped the compound.
The couple claimed that no cat escaped on its own. Fieber says, "They wanted them to get out. They cut holes and let them out so they could shoot them."
Authorities decided shooting all escaped cats would be the best way to keep the community safe. A decision that was difficult to make.
Sheriff Nielsen says, "They don't teach that in the police academy. This was all brand new... It's sad that we had to take the lives of those others, but we all felt that there was a clear and present danger."
Authorities knew that danger would still be present the next day. With a school bus stop nearby, law officials contacted school officials who canceled class.
The biggest problem authorities faced at the time: they didn't know how many cats were on the loose because they didn't know how many cats the couple owned.
Chief Deputy Nielsen says, "We have had people that called us that said they were inside the compound months ago, and their counts go all the way up to 90."
After taking a count and speaking to Martin, authorities had a better idea of what they were looking at.
Chief Deputy Nielsen says, "She called me back later and said, 'You're right Lorin, I think we did have 46 and that should be it.' I hope she's telling the truth."
To be sure officials didn't miss any escaped lions, a helicopter was brought in to look for the cats in the surrounding hills. Sharpshooters also covered the area.
At the end of the first day, authorities killed more than one dozen big cats.
Fieber says, "Now most all the white gene lions are wiped out. Dead. Most the black manes have been shot. I think you all should be real proud of yourselves."
To this day, Sheriff Nielsen says no officer took pride in killing any of the cats. He says, "I don't think anybody that shot a lion thought they had just taken a trophy. They felt that this was something that this animal had no say in the matter."
Tomorrow during part two of "Ligertown: 25 Years Later" we'll cover what happened to the compound owners after the incident. We'll also hear from the current land owner of the Ligertown site who's made some strange discoveries since buying the land four years ago.
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