Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
A
tearful Steven Sipek, better known as “Tarzan”, acknowledged today it
is unlikely he will ever again be allowed to live with his beloved big
cats after admitting he violated state wildlife laws by keeping two
tigers and a black leopard in his Loxahatchee home.
“I’ve taken
care of animals all my life and now I’ve lost them,” the 71-year-old
giant of a man said outside a Palm Beach County courtroom after
accepting a plea deal. “They have something against me. I don’t know
what. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
As part of the agreement, he
pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges — exhibiting wildlife without a
proper permit and failing to cage the animals properly. Those charges
will disappear in a year if he pays the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission the $4,800 it has spent caring for the animals
after they were seized from his home in February 2012. He also agreed to
pay an undetermined amount to transport the tigers, Bo and Lepa, and
the leopard, Oko, to a facility in Okeechobee. He said the animals are
now in Dade City, north of Lakeland.
Friction between Sipek and
wildlife authorities dates back years, most notably to the 2005 escape
of Bobo, a 600-pound tiger that disappeared for 26 hours before it was
shot to death by a wildlife officer.
FWC officials said last year
that they had been working with Sipek to correct violations of state and
federal law involving how he managed the big cats, but their efforts
failed. They claimed they removed the animals to protect both the public
and the cats.
However, Sipek said, the cats that he slept with and roamed his house were never mistreated. His attorney agreed.
“It’s
an unfortunate situation that FWC reacted this way in this particular
case,” said attorney Rob Melchiorre. “A lot of things were done to spite
Steve Sipek.”
He said Sipek accepted the plea deal in a way that
was designed to protect the cats. He declined to identify the facility
where they will be taken. The address in court documents shows that it
is Animal Adventures, an 1,100-acre family-owned ranch in Okeechobee
that takes in homeless wildlife and exhibits them to the public at
special events.
State wildlife officials weren’t immediately available for comment.
Sipek, who was born in Croatia, was dubbed the “Spanish Tarzan” during his acting career.
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