LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. -- The owner of a tiger shot by wildlife officials is expressing bitterness over the death of the big cat and questioning how the tiger escaped in the first place.

Steve Sipek, an actor who once played Tarzan, says he thinks someone opened gates intentionally to allow his 6-year-old tiger, Bobo, to escape. Sipek said he thinks someone freed the tiger to cause problems for him.

Bobo was shot and killed Tuesday when officials say it lunged at a wildlife officer who was trying to capture it 26 hours after it escaped.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the officer, armed with an M-4 rifle, called other units to the location, but as the other team members approached with tranquilizer guns, the tiger turned, took an aggressive posture, and lunged at the first officer with mouth open and ears laid back. The officer, reportedly fearing for his life, stepped back and shot the tiger.

Sipek said, "They deliberately murdered Bobo. That was their intention. They've wanted me out of here for 35 years."

"They were laughing about it," Sipek said. "It was a glorified thing for them."

FWC officials vehemently disagreed with Sipek's appraisal of the situation.

"The entire FWC team that has been on the scene for the past day and a half is distraught by today's turn of events," said Maj. Brett Norton. "Fatally wounding this tiger was the unfortunate last resort for our ground team."

"Murder is the word," Sipek said. "They murdered a poor, helpless animal that only looked ferocious, as any tiger would, but Bobo had a heart of gold."

An expert on tiger behavior disagreed that Bobo posed no danger.

"Tigers are wild animals and they retain hard-wired instincts and to say just because a tiger doesn't have his claws -- so what? He still has his teeth and they're powerful," said Ron Tilson, conservation director at the Minnesota Zoo.

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