St Petersburg Times, September 12, 2006
BALM — A Balm man was hospitalized Tuesday after his 250-pound tiger swatted him in the mouth and cut his left arm, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Lance Kollmann, 37, was cleaning the cage of a 1 1/2-year-old female tiger, when Kollmann stumbled, deputies say. Kollmann caught himself with his arm, but he startled the tiger, and the animal hit him.
A neighbor took him to South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center, where he was being treated Tuesday afternoon for non-life-threatening injuries, deputies say.
Kollmann, whose business name is Sir Lancelot, owns two leopards, four jaguars, one elephant, five lions and 14 tigers, according to state animal licensing records.
